A mortgage is an agreement that allows a lender to take property (and sell it to raise cash) when a borrower fails to pay.
What does that mean in the real world? In most cases, the term mortgage is used to refer to a home loan: when you borrow to buy a house, you sign an agreement saying (among other things) that the home is "security" for the loan. If you dont make the required monthly payments (for several months or more), your lender can foreclose on the property. In other words, the lender can force you out of the property, sell it, and collect the money you still owe.
Mortgage and "home loan" are often used interchangeably. However (if you want to get technical), the mortgage is really the agreement that makes your home loan work not the loan itself. For real estate transactions, agreements need to be in writing, so a mortgage is a document that gives your lender the right to foreclose on your home.
For more information please contact Vertuity Mortgage Inc, 3200 Roblin Boulevard, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3R 0C3, Ph: 204.888.HOME (4663)/ Fax: 1.888.245.9717.