A common type of mortgage is the fixed-rate mortgage. As the name implies, your annual percentage rate is fixed for the lifetime of the mortgage. Your combined principal and interest payment (sometimes called P+I) will be the same every month. In most cases, your total monthly mortgage payment includes not only principal and interest, but also property tax and insurance (T+I) payments (sometimes called P+I/T+I).

While the P+I will always be the same, your T+I may change over time. So even though you have a fixed-rate mortgage, your monthly payment may change.

The advantage of a fixed-rate mortgage is that you have permanent protection against rising interest rates.