What is the difference between a home loan and a mortgage?
It is a fairly common practice for people to use the two terms interchangeably, as I am doing in most of this FAQ. Technically, a “loan” in financial terms could be secured (ie home loan or car loan) or unsecured (ie credit cards), and a home loan would generally refer to a loan that is secured by residential real estate. A “mortgage” or “mortgage loan” is more specific and is exclusively used in reference to a loan that involves real estate, however, technically most loans in Oregon and many other states or done via a “deed of trust” which is a slightly different legal instrument than a traditional “mortgage.
