Taking out a mortgage loan is typically the largest amount of money any one person will borrow in their entire life. Buying a home is an investment. You want to make sure that you are making a smart investment. There are a lot of mortgage options, some more common than others. If you plan to buy a home, you will want to know about the most common types of mortgage loans available.

The fixed rate mortgage loan is perhaps the most well known mortgage option. When interest rates are low, it is a good idea to get a fixed rate mortgage and lock in the interest rate. Whatever interest rate you get with your mortgage will stay with you unless you refinance the house. The amortization schedule with a fixed rate mortgage will stay the same throughout the term of the loan.

Terms of loans for fixed rate mortgages can be ten years, fifteen years, twenty years, thirty years, forty years, and in some rare cases, fifty years. Lower interest rates are offered for loans that have shorter terms since they are lower risk loans for the lenders.

Obviously, the least expensive loans have the shortest terms so if you are looking to save money, you might consider a shorter term for your fixed rate mortgage. Your monthly payments will be more, but you will pay less for the loan in the long run.

An adjustable rate mortgage is another common mortgage. They have become more popular over the past several years. Some buyers grossly misunderstand the ARM (adjustable rate mortgage) loan. The main thing to be aware of with this type of loan is that you need to expect that your monthly mortgage will change over time.

When interest rates change, your interest rate on your mortgage will adjust and you will either have increased or decreased monthly mortgage payments. This might sound okay to some people, but realize that when the economy is struggling like it is now, mortgage payments can more than double for some people. Make sure that if this were to happen you wouldn’t end up losing your home for defaulting on the loan.

There are many more types of mortgages to choose from. But the most common mortgages today are the fixed rate mortgage, the adjustable rate mortgage, and the interest only mortgage. One of them might be right for you.