A fixed rate mortgage is the most common type of mortgage program. This program sets the monthly interest and principal  payments for the life of the loan.  Property taxes and homeowners insurance may increase, but apart from these variables,  monthly payments will remain stable.  Fixed rate mortgages are available for terms of 30 years, 20 years, 15 years and even for 10 years.

"Biweekly" payment mortgages are also available. These programs can significantly shorten the loan term by requiring half of the monthly payment to be made every two weeks. This greatly reduces  compounded interest over the life of the loan .  (Since there are 52 weeks in a year, a borrower makes 26 payments, or 13 "months" worth of payement each year.)

Fixed rate, fully amortizing loans, have two distinct features. First, the interest rate remains fixed for the life of the loan. Second, payments remain level for the life of the loan and are structured to repay the loan at the end of the loan term. The most common fixed rate loans are 15 year and 30 year mortgages.

During the early amortization period, a large percentage of the monthly payment is used to pay only the interest. More of the monthly payment is applied to principal as the loan is paid down. A typical 30 year fixed rate mortgage takes 22.5 years of level payments to pay half of the original loan amount.