Fixed Rate Mortgages

The main benefit of a fixed rate mortgage is, as the name suggests, an interest rate that is guaranteed to remain at a certain percentage for the entire length of the loan. The tradeoff, however, is that this fixed rate is higher than that of an adjustable-rate mortgage, as the lender charges a higher price for taking on the risk associated with interest rate fluctuations. 

This type of mortgage tend to be somewhat harder to qualify for, since the first installments are higher than with other types of loans, and lending agencies tend not to grant as high a loan due to this factor.

There also is private mortgage insurance to consider.  To learn more, read this article.  It also details how much easier it has gotten in the past year to actually get rid of this extra payment as soon as possible.

During the early stages of repaying this type loan, called an "amortization" period, a higher percentage of each payment goes towards repaying the interest on the borrowed money. As time passes and the loan ages, the balance changes and the weight of each payment shifts to favor the principal.

One type of alternate payment method available for some fixed rate mortgages is a "bi-weekly" payment schedule, in which a proportionately smaller installment is made every two weeks. This plan allows the equivalent of 13 months worth of payments to be made in one year.