Back in the olden days, you actually did get a 25 year term on a 25 year mortgage.

The problem is that lenders tend to finance your mortgage by borrowing the money at much shorter terms.  The way they make their money is off the spread between borrowing from someone else and lending to you.

Well, back in the olden days, my father got a mortgage with a 25 year term at something like 6% or 7%.

In 1980, short term interest rates spiked at 22%.

My father's mortgage lender was begging him to pay his mortgage off sooner.  After all, they were BORROWING money at double digit interest rates so they could, in effect, LOAN it to him at single digit interest rates.

Around that time, a lot of mortgage companies were going bankrupt.

Now do you understand why lenders don't like 25 year terms on mortgages?