A mortgage is a contract whereby a debtor pledges an asset (usually real estate) as collateral to the borrower (creditor).
A key characteristic of a mortgage is the fact that, if the debtor does not pay his debt to the creditor, the creditor will have the right to request the sale of the asset in order to collect what is owed to him. A mortgage therefore provides a guarantee for the creditor by having the debtor’s property as collateral.
Mortgages are made up of a series of basic components, such as the capital (resources lent to the debtor), the interest rate (which implies the charging of a fixed or variable percentage on the debt for the benefit of the lender) and finally the term, which indicates the time in which the lender expects to receive the money previously lent.