A residential mortgage is an amount of debt secured on a residential property.

A commercial lender, such as a bank, non-bank lender, building society or credit union, lends you money to help fund the property and takes security over the property.

By giving security to the lender, you have given them rights to repossess your property if you are unable to repay your loan.

This security is a reason why people are able to borrow substantial amounts of money to purchase property.

A residential mortgage is usually repaid over many years - sometimes for up to 30 years.
 
The main components of the loan are shown on the page opposite.