If you have a mortgage, do you also pay rent or only utility bills?
If you have a mortgage, do you also pay rent or only utility bills? Lets make sure that you understand what a mortgage is. This is a loan on land or a home/condo/townhouse, etc. The fact that you have the mortgage means that you bought the property and financed it from a bank or other lender. If you are living in this property that you have the mortgage on, then you are paying back the lender over time for the use of their money with the intent to pay off the mortgage and own the property debt free. Now I have heard it said that we are never really debt free, because you will still be paying taxes on the property as long as you own it. But that is a small amount compared to what you would pay in rent for the same size house in most cases. So while you own it, you will be paying the mortgage principle and interest, along with taxes and insurance on the home. You may also be paying for an HOA. You also will be paying for the utilities. There is no rent to pay unless you are living somewhere else other than the property you own.