How to Use first mortgage in a Sentence

first mortgage

noun
  • Only about 4% of homes have first mortgages with rates of 6% and above.
    — Andrew Khouri, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2023
  • Smith says sometimes a line of credit can take longer for approval than a first mortgage.
    — cleveland, 15 Aug. 2021
  • Such a law would allow the holders of first mortgages to stop worrying.
    — Joshua Stein, Forbes, 20 Sep. 2024
  • Most of these people are young adults struggling with their first mortgage and student debt repayments.
    — Dallas News, 10 Jan. 2022
  • Instead, the second lien comes due when the first mortgage is paid off or the borrower sells the property.
    — Kathleen Pender, SFChronicle.com, 9 Apr. 2020
  • Others believed their second loans were rolled in with their first mortgage payments or forgiven.
    — Michael Hill, USA TODAY, 21 Nov. 2022
  • If a property has lost value when the borrower defaults, there may be no value left once the first mortgage is paid.
    — Ryan Dezember, WSJ, 25 Dec. 2018
  • Those debts have secondary claims to properties that are collateral for first mortgages.
    — Ryan Dezember, WSJ, 25 Dec. 2018
  • If the home goes into foreclosure, the lender holding the home equity loan does not get paid until the first mortgage lender is paid.
    — Ivana Pino, Fortune, 7 Nov. 2022
  • The takeaway Getting a home equity loan works much like applying for your first mortgage did.
    — Aly J. Yale, Fortune, 6 Oct. 2022
  • The MyHome Assistance loan must be paired with a first mortgage from the agency.
    — Kathleen Pender, SFChronicle.com, 5 July 2018
  • The 30-year first mortgage, however, may have a higher interest than a market-rate loan.
    — Hudson Sangree, sacbee, 19 Mar. 2018
  • Almost 30 years ago, Doug Lebda was trying to secure his first mortgage.
    — Desiree Mathurin, Charlotte Observer, 13 Oct. 2025
  • Help with down payments, closing costs, first mortgage insurance premiums, as well as lower interest rates can be part of that program.
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 11 Jan. 2025
  • To qualify, homebuyers can earn up to 80% of the median income for the market and must gain preapproval for a first mortgage.
    — Kara Carlson, Dallas News, 9 July 2019
  • Leckie and his wife, Jennifer Hopkins, just bought a new home in Maryland, making their first mortgage payment just a few weeks ago.
    — Hannah Demissie, ABC News, 1 Mar. 2025
  • 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
  • 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, 12 Feb. 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
  • 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
  • Gilbert, 63, started his first mortgage lender at age 22 with $5,000 earned from selling pizzas in college.
    — Giacomo Tognini, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
  • 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
  • Last year, Sweden got its first mortgage fund when Stabelo started offering home loans through online bank and broker Avanza.
    — Frances Schwartzkopff, Bloomberg.com, 25 Mar. 2018
  • Because if the condo association prevails, under many court decisions, that would literally wipe out a first mortgage.
    — Benny L. Kass, chicagotribune.com, 14 Dec. 2017
  • 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
  • Second loans and HELOCs will carry a higher interest rate than today’s first mortgage rates.
    — Jeff Lazerson, Oc Register, 21 Aug. 2025
  • And there is a non-FHA reverse second loan available for 55-and-older homeowners who don’t want to lose their low interest rate first mortgage.
    — Jeff Lazerson, Oc Register, 30 Apr. 2026
  • First, increase funding for rental assistance to keep people in their homes with dedicated funding by removing the second mortgage deduction and capping the first mortgage deduction.
    — Jamie Goldberg, oregonlive, 19 Apr. 2022
  • In either of the first mortgage cases, borrowers retain homeownership, but the loan balance increases over time, also known as negative amortization.
    — Jeff Lazerson, Oc Register, 30 Apr. 2026
  • Since a Heloc is typically a second mortgage on a home, in the event of a foreclosure, the holder of a second mortgage doesn’t get paid unless there is sufficient equity in the property after the first mortgage is paid off.
    — Robyn A. Friedman, WSJ, 29 Apr. 2021

Some of 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.

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