FROM CALGARY REGION COMMUNITY BOARD, PERSONS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
www.pdd.org/calgary
(original, reprinted with permission)

from the booklet Mortgages and other money matters
(pictures omitted; original font and size reproduced)

The first thing most people think about when they want to buy a home is—how much will it cost and where will I find the money for it? Not many people have all they need to pay for a home. So they must borrow. The money you borrow to buy a home is called a mortgage (sounds like MOR-gaje). You can borrow from a bank, a credit union, an insurance company or some other big lender. We will just say lender in this booklet.

Most often a mortgage is money that is borrowed for 25 years. You must pay it back over that time, as well as pay interest. This is the profit the lender makes. Often you sign a paper that says you will pay back so much over 3 years or 5 years (you and the lender together make a plan). After that, you need to make a new plan. The interest you pay may go up or down with each new plan.

[Flesch-Kincaid reading level = 5]