Explain What a Mortgage Actually Is Before You Start Looking at Houses

You have heard the words but you do not want to admit you do not know how a mortgage works. Before the viewing, before the bank appointment, before the enthusiasm takes over. Deposit size versus interest rate, loan-to-value, repayment versus interest-only, fixed versus variable, and the one thing most people do not realise about what a mortgage costs over its lifetime. One worked example throughout.

Explain how a mortgage works to someone who is thinking about buying their first home and has never had one. Cover in plain English: what a mortgage is and why lenders offer them, the relationship between deposit size and interest rate, what a loan-to-value ratio means and why it matters, the difference between repayment and interest-only mortgages, what a fixed versus variable rate means in practice and what happens when a fixed rate ends, and one thing most first-time buyers do not realise about how much a mortgage actually costs over its lifetime. Use a single worked example throughout. Under 400 words.