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Real EstateMortgages

The 30-Year Mortgage Is Rare

Few countries lock a home loan's rate for 30 years

Americans lock a home loan's rate for 30 years and think nothing of it. In most rich countries you can't. Why here?

You'll find out

  • Which countries lock a rate for 30 years
  • What US home loans looked like in 1930
  • The crash that rebuilt the mortgage

Why it matters

The loan most Americans take for granted is a rare invention, and it shapes what every buyer here pays.

About 3 min6 interactive slides · 5 questionsLesson 111 · Zone 13

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More in this zone

  1. 109HousingRent or Own: What You Pay ForBoth cost money you never get back
  2. 110MortgagesHow a Mortgage WorksA loan to buy a home, paid over decades
  3. 112MortgagesInterest Comes FirstEarly payments are mostly interest
  4. 113MortgagesWhat a Home Really CostsThe price tag versus everything you pay
  5. 114Home EquityDown Payments and EquityThe part of the house that's really yours
  6. 115HousingRenting Is Throwing Money AwayOwners have money they never get back too
  7. 116OwnershipThe Landlord's GameLizzie Magie invented the game that became Monopoly, to show how owning land pulls in everyone's rent, and was paid $500
  8. 117Rental PropertyGetting Paid by a BuildingHow rental income works