A pre-qualification or pre-approval letter is a document from a lender stating that the lender is tentatively willing to lend to you, up to a certain loan amount.

A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is basically a home loan that gives you 30 years to pay back the money you borrowed at an interest rate that won’t change for the entire life of the loan.

A 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is a home loan with a repayment period of 15 years. It has an interest rate that does not change throughout the life of the loan. 15 Years Fixed loans have a lower rate than 30 Years Fixed loans and borrower pays less interest throughout the life of the loan.

A jumbo loan, or jumbo mortgage, is a mortgage loan that exceeds the limits set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Jumbo loans are called nonconforming loans because they do not conform to those limits. Jumbo loans can have fixed rates or adjustable ( 5 to 10 years ARMs).

At its most basic, an interest-only mortgage is one where you only make interest payments for the first several years – typically five or ten – and once that period ends, you begin to pay both principal and interest. If you want to make principal payments during the interest-only period, you can, but that’s not a requirement of the loan.

FHA loans (Down payment as low as 3.5%) and VA loans are both government-insured mortgages. The distinction is that VA loans are available to eligible military service-members, veterans and surviving spouses, while FHA loans are available to any borrower who qualifies under FHA lending standards.

A non-qualified mortgage (non-QM) is a home loan designed to help homebuyers who can't meet the strict criteria of a qualifying mortgage. It includes Bank Statements loan, Assets Depletion Loan, No Docs Loan, DSCR, and much more products. For example, if you are self-employed or don't have all the necessary documentation to qualify for a traditional mortgage, you might need to look at non-qualified mortgages as the ones listed above.

Commercial real estate loans are generally used to purchase or renovate commercial property. Lenders usually require that the property be owner-occupied, meaning that your business will have to occupy at least 51% of the building. To get a commercial real estate loan, you’ll need to decide on the type of commercial loan you need — depending on the property and business — and then narrow down your lender options.