Based on the Anglo American law on property, a mortgage usually happens when the owner shows or pledges his rights to a certain property that he owns as a collateral or security in order for that owner to get a loan. This makes the mortgage a limitation on the owner's right to his property. Most mortgages are however for new money loans so that the term mortgage has come to be synonymous with the type of loan that a person gets through real property as collateral.
As with all other kinds and varieties of loans, mortgages come with their own interest rates and are set for amortization over a certain amount of time. Typically, amortizations happen in 30 years. Most if not all kinds of real property may be and most often are, secured with the use of a mortgage and come with interest rates that often mirror the amount of risk the owner has. Private ownership of most residential and a lot of commercial property owners have used mortgage lending as its primary tool; this happens in almost all the countries in the world. They may have different terms for it in different parts of the world but its basic guidelines and functions tend to stay the same. For example, when it comes to property which is the actual residence that is up for financing, ownership forms may very and may also put certain restrictions on the lending types that can be possible.
There is also the interest which is the amount that is charged on the monetary amount that you borrowed from a lender. These lenders can also be called investors, they may be individuals but in most cases is any kind of financial institution which includes banks. These investors have mortgaged-backed security which gives them the right to own interest in that mortgage. In this case, the lender is called the mortgage originator. The lender will then be able to package and sell the loan to various investors.
That is the messy world of mortgages. Make sure that the mortgage loan which you get for yourself is something that you understand so that you do not lose any money over time.