For example, there are:Īnd in addition to loans backed by private banks and quasi-governmental organizations like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, depending on your circumstances you may qualify for mortgages backed by the:īut wait – there’s more: Another whole category of mortgages is for generating cash instead of buying a house, including refinancings, second mortgages, and reverse mortgages.īelow is a deeper dive into these various types of mortgages.
The variety of interest and down payment options adds up to a wide array of mortgage types with sometimes hard-to-understand terms and acronyms. Adjustable: There are several kinds of adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), too, where your interest rate and monthly payments usually change over time.Įach of these two main mortgage categories has many variations depending on who’s backing the loan – bank or government agency – how big it is, whether it’s for a first-time homebuyer, whether it’s in an urban or rural area, and other factors.Often called “conventional,” these mortgages have fixed interest rates and regular monthly principal-and-interest payments that don’t vary over the life of the loan. Fixed: Most homebuyers take out fixed-rate mortgages for 30- or 15-year terms.While there are only two main mortgage types, each has numerous variations.
