A MORTGAGE is a secure loan against your house, it can be a first mortgage or combination of several. TERM is the immediate length of the contract, AMORTIZATION is the the overall length of the life of the mortgage.
Two common mortgage payments are fixed and variable. Both have big ramifications. Property tax takes first priority, legally, over the mortgage.
Most situations can get fixed.
Mortgage is an old term meaning basically, Contract to the Death! But….it can be a huge positive for fixing things.