What Is a Home Mortgage? A home mortgage is a loan given by a bank, mortgage company, or other financial institution for the purchase of a residence—a primary residence, a secondary residence, or an investment residence—in contrast to a piece of commercial or industrial property. In a home mortgage, the owner of the property (the
What Is a Home Office? A home office is a space designated in a person’s residence for official business purposes. It provides a space for those that are self-employed or work remotely for an employer. The IRS allows qualified taxpayers to claim a home office on their tax return and deduct certain home expenses when
What Is a Home Office Expense? Home office expenses are expenses incurred from the operation of a business or the performance of employment-related activities within a primary residence. Key Takeaways Expenses you incur in the operation of a business you conduct in your home are deductible on your federal taxes within certain limits.To calculate your expenses
What Is the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan (HASP)? The Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan (HASP) was a program initiated in 2009 to stabilize the U.S. economy during the Great Recession. The HASP was designed to benefit several million American families. It had three parts: refinancing options for stable homeowners, financial aid for seriously delinquent
What Is a Homeowners Association (HOA) Fee? The term “homeowners association (HOA) fee” refers to an amount of money that must be paid by certain types of residential property owners every month to their homeowners associations (HOAs). These fees are collected to assist the association with maintaining and improving properties. HOA fees are almost always
What Is Homeowners Insurance? Homeowners insurance is a form of property insurance that covers losses and damages to an individual’s residence, along with furnishings and other assets in the home. Homeowners insurance also provides liability coverage against accidents in the home or on the property. Key Takeaways Homeowners insurance is a form of property insurance
What Is the Homeowners Protection Act? The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 is a law designed to reduce the unnecessary payment of private mortgage insurance (PMI) by homeowners who may no longer be required to pay it. The Homeowners Protection Act covers all private, residential mortgages purchased after July 29, 1999. The act, also known as
What Is the Homestead Exemption? The homestead exemption is a way to minimize property taxes for homeowners. It is also a legal provision offered in most states that helps shield a home from some creditors following the death of a homeowner’s spouse or the declaration of bankruptcy. The homestead tax exemption can provide surviving spouses with
What Is a Home Warranty? A home warranty is a residential service contract that covers the cost of maintaining household systems or appliances for a set period. A home warranty is different from homeowners’ insurance and it is different than a structural warranty, which is used by home builders and buyers and not used for existing
What Is Homoskedastic? Homoskedastic (also spelled “homoscedastic”) refers to a condition in which the variance of the residual, or error term, in a regression model is constant. That is, the error term does not vary much as the value of the predictor variable changes. Another way of saying this is that the variance of the
