when the borrower and the lender have agreed on the terms of the home mortgage the lender puts a lien on the home as collateral for the loan this lien gives the lender the right to take possession of the house if the borrower defaults on the repayments 
example of mortgage termsyour mortgage terms are the terms under which you agree to repay the loan to your lender a typical mortgage term is 30 years though some mortgage loans may have terms ranging from 10 to 25 years instead a home equity loan that s used to draw out your equity for example might have a 10 year repayment term mortgage terms also include the interest rate that you pay for the loan say you borrow 300 000 to buy a home you opt for a conventional 30 year loan based on your credit scores and other financial details your lender offers you a 3 5 interest rate on the loan you put 60 000 down and pay 200 per month for property taxes and 100 per month for homeowners insurance the interest rate and length of repayment determine how much you ll pay in total for the home using this example you would pay 1 377 71 per month for the loan over a period of 30 years you would pay 147 974 61 in interest 72 000 in taxes and 36 000 for insurance for a total cost of 495 974 61 this doesn t include the down payment 