A VA home loan is a mortgage loan that is guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The loan is available to eligible veterans, service members, and surviving spouses.

A USDA home loan is a mortgage that is insured by the US Department of Agriculture. These loans are available to rural homeowners who may not qualify for other types of mortgage loans.

Ever heard of the term second mortgage? If you have, have you ever wondered if you should get one?

A reverse mortgage is where the borrower doesn’t make monthly payments to the lender. Instead, the lender makes payments to the borrower, and the loan balance increases over time. The borrower is not required to repay the loan until the home is sold or the borrower dies. At that time, the lender is repaid from the proceeds of the sale or from the borrower’s estate. Reverse mortgages can be helpful for seniors ages 62 and up who wish to stay in their homes but do not have the income to make monthly mortgage payments.

A fixed-rate mortgage is a mortgage product that has a set interest rate for the life of the loan. Most financial institutions like Skyla offer 15-&-30-year fixed-rate mortgages.

A jumbo loan is a mortgage that exceeds the conforming loan limit set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. This limit varies depending on the location of the property but is typically $484,350 or higher. Jumbo loans are available in both fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgage options. For many homebuyers, the main advantage of a jumbo loan is that it allows them to purchase a more expensive property than they would be able to with a standard mortgage. Additionally, jumbo loans often come with lower interest rates than other mortgage products.

You can look at conventional mortgages as normal (or regular) loans. These loans are mortgages that aren't insured or guaranteed by the government. This means that if you can't make your mortgage payments, you won't be able to get help from the government as you could with a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan.

Interest-only mortgages work similarly to adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs). In a nutshell, interest-only mortgages are when you only pay the interest on the mortgage for the first couple of years of the loan and not any of the principal payments.

Homebuying can be a complex process but understanding the basics of mortgages is a good place to start! There are many different mortgage products available, and the terms of the loan will vary depending on the lender and the borrower's circumstances.