Clearly Mortgage

Plain-English mortgage terminology, explained without the sales pitch

Plain-English mortgage terminology, explained without the sales pitch

Mortgage Types at a Glance

Lenders mix structural terms (fixed vs. adjustable), size terms (conforming vs. jumbo), and backing terms (FHA, VA) as if they were one menu. This table separates them so you can see what each label actually describes. A single loan can carry several of these labels at once — a 30-year fixed FHA-insured loan, for example.

This table describes general loan categories, not any specific loan product. Terms, eligibility, and availability vary by lender and change over time. It is reference material, not lending, financial, or tax advice — confirm details with a licensed lender or a HUD-approved housing counselor.

Mortgage paperwork is written by lawyers and quoted by salespeople, which means most people sign the largest contract of their lives without a clear picture of what the words in it mean. Clearly Mortgage exists to close that gap. It is a reference site, not a lender: nothing here is trying to qualify you, rate you, or sell you a loan.

The core of the site is a side-by-side comparison of the common mortgage types — fixed-rate, adjustable-rate, conforming, jumbo, FHA-insured, and VA-backed — laid out in one table so you can see how the categories actually differ before a loan officer starts using them interchangeably. Around that table are short guides answering the specific questions people actually type: what a quoted mortgage rate really includes, what a conforming loan limit is and why it matters, what "government-backed" means on FHA and VA loans, and how the mortgage interest deduction is defined in the tax code.

Everything is grounded in the primary sources — HUD, the FHFA, Freddie Mac's rate survey, the VA, and the IRS — and each guide links to them so you can verify the details yourself. When it comes time to make an actual decision, take what you learned here to a lender, a HUD-approved housing counselor, or a tax professional.