1. A mortgage is defined as ‘a conditional conveyance of, or lien upon, land or other property as security for the performance of some condition, as the payment of money, becoming void on the performance of the condition’.

2. The emphasis is on ‘the performance of some condition’, and it is with this aspect that the lender is mainly concerned. The ‘payment of money’ will include interest on the amount advanced and repayment of principal by an agreed method—the latter by paying the premiums on a suitable policy, where the majority of new life office mortgages are concerned.