If you want to make sure that you will be financially steady in your future (especially if you are going to retire in a fairly short amount of time), then you will have to start thinking of ways in which you can invest money now, to profit later on. Although the economic crisis has been tough on the real estate market, the truth is that this is still one of the safest things to go for when it comes to investments.

Making a property investment will most likely mean that you will have to take a mortgage loan as well. Before you make any move though, do make sure that you understand the various types of mortgage loans out there, because this can influence a lot whether or not your property investment will actually turn out profitable.

The first and most common type of mortgage is the fixed-rate one. This…