To be enlighten what mortgage means, I had to look up at wikipedia for its meaning. It says, mortgage  is the pledging of a real property to a lender as a security for a mortgage loan. 

For example, if you are purchasing a house and lot or a condominium or any real property and you dont have enough funds to pay for what you purchase, you opt to avail of an in-house financing, bank financing or mortgage lenders.  In this way, you are able to acquire your dream property without paying the whole amount outright, and pay it on a staggered basis depending on the terms and condition of the lender with whom you have contracted with.

In most cases, mortgage lenders offer low interest rates and long years of payment.  Sometimes, it can go as long as 20 years. 

In real estate industry, there are specific percentage of the total contract price (TCP) of a property that a buyer is allowed to enroll under financing or mortgage. In the Philippines, the practice is that the buyer should pay at least 20% (outright or staggered depending on the temrs set by the developer) of the TCP and have the remaining amount financed by a mortgate lender.  Contracting a mortgate lender to acquire a real estate property is a wise move because you are able to acquire your dream property at a very light terms of payment.