What exactly is a mortgage loan? In its most basic sense, a mortgage loan is the borrowing of money (loan) secured by a real estate property (mortgage). As a buyer, you can obtain your mortgage loan from a mortgage banker, mortgage broker, savings and loan, credit union, or bank. Beyond the traditional mortgage industry , you may be able to obtain some or all of the financing from private individuals, even in some cases the seller of the property. Funding from these privat sources is often called "creative financing."

To start the process, you submit an application to a loan officer ( or a mortgage specialist as they are also commonly referred to) detailing your income assets, and debts. The loan officer will help you explore your financing options and figure out roughly how much you can borrow and the kind of loan that will work best for you.

Once you have a general game plan, your application goes to an underwriter who makes sure all the information chaecks out, and then decides exactly how musc the institution is willing to lend you. This whole process is called preappproval; the application will take about an hour of your time, and underwriting usually takes a few days, but in some cases may take longer. For additional information click here