Loan term
Ask USMI can help explain this term and how it shows up in a mortgage question.
Definition
The loan term is the agreed length of time for repayment of the mortgage. It is a duration, not the interest rate and not the product type.
In plain English
A loan term answers how long the scheduled repayment is meant to last. Common consumer examples are multi-year terms, but this page does not name a required length. A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage combines a term with a rate type. Those are two ideas. Balloon loans can have a term that ends before the debt is fully amortized.
Technical definition
Consumer glossaries treat term as the repayment period. Named products that combine a term with a rate type remain separate ideas.
Why it matters
Payment size, amortization, and refinance comparisons all depend on the remaining term.
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