A mortgage is a loan you take out on a piece of land or real estate when you don’t have all the cash-on hand to buy, improve or maintain it on your own. A bank or other financial institution will lend you the money under the condition that you repay the loaned amount by a set number of years and also pay interest on the borrowed amount during that time. Since buying a home is most people’s largest purchase, a mortgage is likely to be your biggest debt but also a "good debt". Homeownership is seen as a sign of financial stability, even if you're a co-borrower. Being able to maintain a mortgage payment shows lenders and creditors that you are fiscally responsible. According to Zillow research, 78% of buyers used a mortgage to purchase a home and more than half (58%) of them used the mortgage to finance between 81% and 97% of the sale price — meaning borrowers put down less than 20% on the home.