Mortgages

A mortgage is a security interest that is used to secure the performance of an obligation, usually a loan. In the most common context, a person or entity borrows money from the bank to purchase a property (house, land, etc.), and the property itself is used as security for payment. If the borrower defaults, the bank has the right to foreclose, i.e. to take the property in order to recover the money borrowed.

he concept of mortgage is as old as the concept of debt and property. The first references to a system similar to the modern mortgage are found in ancient Greece, specifically in 6th century BC Athens. At the time of the lawgiver Solon, wooden or marble stones, known as "horos", were placed on properties to indicate that they were mortgaged as security for a debt. This system allowed debtors to retain possession of their land, while creditors had a public guarantee that the debt would be paid.

Later, the Romans developed a more sophisticated system of mortgages, which they called fiducia, and which laid the foundation for modern legal systems. This concept evolved in the Middle Ages and was consolidated in the Modern Age with the emergence of banking and the development of financial markets. Today, the mortgage is a pillar of the economy, a financing instrument that allows millions of people to access housing, while at the same time generating crisis risks, as seen in the mortgage crisis of 2008.