A mortgage loan, also referred to as a mortgage, is used by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate; or by existing property owners to raise funds for any purpose while putting a lien on the property being mortgaged. The loan is "secured" on the borrower's property. This means that a legal mechanism is put in place which allows the lender to take possession and sell the secured property ("foreclosure" or "repossession") to pay off the loan in the event that the borrower defaults on the loan or otherwise fails to abide by its terms. The word mortgage is derived from a "Law French" term used by English lawyers in the Middle Ages meaning "death pledge", and refers to the pledge ending (dying) when either the obligation is fulfilled or the property is taken through foreclosure. Mortgage can also be described as "a borrower giving consideration in the form of a collateral for a benefit (loan).
Mortgage borrowers can be individuals mortgaging their home or they can be businesses mortgaging commercial property (for example, their own business premises, residential property let to tenants or an investment portfolio). The lender will typically be a financial institution, such as a bank, credit union or building society, depending on the country concerned, and the loan arrangements can be made either directly or indirectly through intermediaries. Features of mortgage loans such as the size of the loan, maturity of the loan, interest rate, method of paying off the loan, and other characteristics can vary considerably. The lender's rights over the secured property take priority over the borrower's other creditors which means that if the borrower becomes bankrupt or insolvent, the other creditors will only be repaid the debts owed to them from a sale of the secured property if the mortgage lender is repaid in full first.
Rate may refer to:
Rates are a type of property tax system in the United Kingdom, and in places with systems deriving from the British one, the proceeds of which are used to fund local government. Some other countries have taxes with a more or less comparable role, for example France's taxe d'habitation.
Local government authorities levy annual taxes, which are called council rates or shire rates. The basis on which these charges can be calculated varies from state to state, but is usually based in some way on the value of property. Even within states, individual local government authorities can often choose the specific basis of rates - for example, it may be on the rental value of property (as in Western Australia) or on the unimproved land value (as in New South Wales). These rateable valuations are usually determined by a statutory authority, and are subject to periodic revision.
Rates are referred to as property taxes in Canada. These taxes are collected primarily by municipal governments on residential, industrial and commercial properties and are their main source of funding.
Rates (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈʁatɨʃ]) is a Portuguese parish and a former township located in the municipality of Póvoa de Varzim. The population in 2011 was 2,505, in an area of 13.90 km². The township has records dating to the 13th century and, still today, it preserves landmarks such as the townsquare and a well-preserved and notable Romanesque temple.
Rates is a medieval township that developed around the Monastery of Rates, established by Henry, Count of Portugal in 1100 AD on the site of an older temple dating to the 9th century or earlier and with sculpture elements dating to the Roman empire. A Roman road crossed near the monastery.
Rates naming seems pre-Roman in origin. The town gained importance due to the legend of Saint Peter of Rates, mythical first bishop of Braga and martyr while attempting to convert Roman pagans to Christianity, becoming in a central place in the Portuguese Way of Saint James and the local myth was used by Braga archbishops to justify their primacy in Hispania.