Millions of people aspire for their dream homes but the problem is that most of them do not know how to get the required home loan for the purpose. It is good for the beginners to know about the mortgage terminologies and basics before going for mortgages or the home equity loans.

Mortgage Basics

Learning about the basics of mortgage financing would be good for the beginners.
Mortgage is loan that is obtained to pay for the home and any land on which the home is built up.
Home and land are both used as collateral on the loan.
If you cannot make payment, the lender will take the home away to cover the default payments.

Mortgage Components

Main components of mortgage loans are as follows.
Principal amount is the one that has been borrowed to purchase the home.Interest is the amount that the bank charges on the borrower for use of their money by such borrower.
Such interest is usually based on current economic indicators.

Time Span and Repayment

Usually the mortgage time span ranges from 15-30 years. Since the loan is for high amount it is financed for such long terms. Payments are made including principal and interests. Total loan amount is divided into equal payments through the life span of the loan and the process is called amortization in United States. Major part of the repayment made by the borrower goes towards interest while a small part goes towards repayment of the principal.

Calculation Example

Examples of loan calculation made in case of the mortgage are as follows.
Suppose a borrower borrows $100,000 dollars spanning a time period of around 30 years and the interest rate is 7% per annum.In case of the first payment of $665, a sum of $583 shall be adjusted towards the principal and the balance $82 towards interest.
Going down the reduced rates, in the last Installment on the 30th year, the borrower will pay $665 out of which only $4 will go towards interest and $661 will go towards principal.

How the Borrower Overpays

But the cliché is elsewhere. The borrower has not only paid the principal amount of $100,000 but also additional $139,509 towards the interests and that is a staggering figure. It is more than all the parts of repayment taken together including principal, taxes, interests, and insurances.

And lower the down payment the higher is the risk for the lenders and higher the risk, the higher is the mortgage interest rates charged by them.

Author's Bio: 

LenderStreet is the site that gives you comprehensive idea about the mortgage rates charged by different lenders as part of the mortgage basics. Citing practical examples, the site also helps the borrower understand what really fair lending process is likely to offer.