Glossary of Mortgage Terms

With an installment loan, you get a large sum of money upfront and then pay it back in fixed, scheduled payments over a certain amount of time.

An interest rate floor is the lowest rate a variable-rate loan can ever reach. It is a contractually set minimum that keeps the borrower's rate from going below a certain level, no matter how low market rates go.

An interest-only mortgage is a home loan that lets you pay only the interest charges for a set number of years before your payment rises to include principal repayment.

An investment property is a piece of real estate that someone buys to make money from rent payments, price increases, or both, instead of living in it themselves.