A title represents ownership. The title documentation that you have, or will have, when you purchase a home, will be called either a “deed of trust,” or a “mortgage,” depending on your state.
When you hear the word “mortgage,” you may be thinking of a payment that needs to be made monthly. In fact, what you are paying each month to your lender is called a “note payment.”
Owner vs. borrower
Ownership is entirely different. It has nothing to do with making monthly payments. The title says who owns the property; the “note” says who is paying for it. When you sign this note at closing, you are promising the lender you borrowed from that you will pay back the loan at the terms specified. And you also put up your ownership interest (title) of the property as collateral against the note. As long as you keep the payments on the house current, it remains yours.
But what about foreclosures? A foreclosure is the process whereby the lender exercises the right to take ownership of a property when a borrower is far enough behind on the note payment to warrant it. These terms are all spelled out in the loan documents that you sign.
There are, in fact, many different ways to hold title, including “tenants in common” and “joint tenancy with right of survivorship.” They apply when the title holders are alive as well as after they die. Your real estate attorney can explain the available ways of holding title.