Mortgage Dictionary

Select a term from the dropdown text box. The online mortgage dictionary will display a definition, plus links to other related web pages.

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Loan Duration

In many contexts, the terms "loan duration" and "loan term" are used interchangeably. On this website, we try to distinguish between loan duration and loan term.

  • Loan term refers to the amount of time that a borrower is given to pay off a loan.
  • Loan duration refers to the actual amount of time that it takes a borrower is to pay off a loan.

At most, the loan duration will be equal to the loan term. However, the borrower can reduce the loan duration by making prepayments.