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first mortgage
noun
: a mortgage that has priority as a lien over all mortgages and liens except those imposed by law
Examples of first mortgage in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
An applicant must be at least 18 years old and have a first mortgage prequalification or preapproval with a mortgage lender licensed by a Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry to qualify for Washington County's Heart & Homestead Earned Down Payment Incentive.
—Cathy Kozlowicz, Journal Sentinel, 29 Mar. 2024
The partial claim second mortgage could be ignored until the house was sold, the mortgage was refinanced or the first mortgage was paid off, at which point the partial claim would have to be paid in full.
—Jon Healey, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2024
They’re treated as second mortgages, but require no payments of any kind until the home is refinanced, resold or its first mortgage paid off, at which point the state loan must be repaid in full.
—Jon Healey, Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2024
Lenders tend to be a lot more comfortable when home prices are trending upward because the higher prices create extra room between a home’s sale price and the balance on the home’s first mortgage.
—Aly J. Yale, wsj.com, 7 Dec. 2023
As a result, home-equity loan rates tend to be significantly higher than rates on first mortgages—usually by about 2 percentage points.
—Aly J. Yale, wsj.com, 7 Dec. 2023
That is almost as much as my first mortgage of my house.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2023
Unfortunately, interest rates for second mortgages are typically a bit higher than those for first mortgages, making financing home renovations — which are already more expensive because of inflated costs for materials and labor — impossible for many.
—Michael Kolomatsky, New York Times, 27 July 2023
But starting to build their credit can also be important since a solid track record can be instrumental in attaining life goals ranging from buying a car to obtaining their first mortgage.
—Charisse Jones, USA TODAY, 15 Aug. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'first mortgage.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1728, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near first mortgage
Cite this Entry
“First mortgage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/first%20mortgage. Accessed 16 Jun. 2024.
Legal Definition
first mortgage
see mortgage
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