A loan with a less than traditional payback period, specifically one of fifteen years. During the past thirty years, the vast majority of long-term residential loans have been made with twenty, twenty-five, and thirty year payouts. However, in recent years more and more homebuyers have opted for loans with shorter maturity periods, such as fifteen-year mortgages. The primary advantage of a early-payout mortgage is the fact that considerably less interest is paid over the life of the mortgage since the principal is borrowed for a shorter period of time. However, offsetting this advantage is the fact that since the principal is borrowed for a less than normal period of time, the principal repayment each period is greater than with twenty- five and thirty-year mortgages. Thus, higher monthly payments eliminate many people from qualifying for fifteen-year mortgages.

A fixed rate, level-payment mortgage loan where for a slight increase in monthly payments, the loan can be paid off in only 15 years. The overall savings in interest paid to the lender, between the 15-year and 30 year mortgage, can be quite substantial without making the monthly payment significantly higher.