6 Fun Facts About Mortgages

There’s no such thing as knowing too much about mortgages, so we're sharing some fun facts and who knows – you might even find the answer to a game-winning question of a family Jeopardy game over the holidays!

Red Front Door 

In Scotland, people paint the front door of their house red once they’ve finally paid off the mortgage. Now, we don’t recommend running around asking any neighbors with red front doors about the status of their mortgage, but it does make you wonder …

From The Old French Word ...

Mortgage derives from the Old French word, mortgage, or “mort Gaige,” which means “dead pledge.” When the mortgage was paid off, it “died.”

Fannie, Meet Freddie

Freddie Mac was created in 1970, just after Fannie Mae became a publicly traded company. The two entities combine to guarantee about half of all mortgages in the United States.

A Poem About Marriage

The earliest use of the word mortgage (spelled “morgage”) was in the poem “Confessio Amantis,” which was written in the 1300s. However, in that poem the word was used to describe marriage, not a home loan.

20% Rates?!?

Fixed-rate mortgages were first offered in 1971, at around 7.5% according to Freddie Mac. In 1980, the rates jumped to nearly 20%!

Mortgages Make Homeownership Possible

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 88% of homebuyers rely on a mortgage to finance the purchase of their home. In fact, most buyers finance 90% of the cost of the home, meaning they’re only putting 10% down.

We hope you enjoyed learning these fun facts as much as we did. If you're inspired to realize your dreams of homeownership, our mortgage team is here to help you every step of the way. Contact one of our loan originators to discuss your mortgage possibilities.