What is a mortgage?
A mortgage is a large lump sum of money that is borrowed and paid back over time, with the property you are using the money to purchase acting as security against you defaulting on the loan.

Why such a variety of mortgages?
There are three key differences between mortgages. These are:

• Mortgage rates: Not only do you need to choose an acceptable interest rate for your mortgage, but also different mortgages have different ways of following the Bank of England base rate, for example fixed, variable and capped mortgages. Read the topic Mortgage rates for further information.
• Repayment options: Select a method of repayment for your mortgage that suits your circumstances, needs and attitude to risk. See Repayment Options.
• Flexibility: Do you want to slow down or accelerate your repayments to suit your lifestyle, for example take a payment holiday whilst on maternity leave.
  If so then read the section Flexible Mortgages.

And if none of these are right for me?
Many peoples circumstances mean that they do not fit perfectly into a standard mortgage. Fortunately there are a large number of non-standard mortgages, such as first time buyer mortgages, available to UK borrowers, one of which may suit you better.

More information on these can be found in the Non-standard loans section.