Glossary of Mortgage Terms

A homestead exemption is a legal protection that can lower the property taxes on your main home and keep some of your home equity safe from creditors.

A house deed is a legal document that shows that a seller has given a buyer ownership of a property and serves as permanent proof that the new owner owns the property.

People who are "house poor" spend so much of their income on housing costs that they can't pay for everyday things, save for the future, or have fun.

HUD is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, a federal agency that oversees national housing policy, administers FHA mortgage insurance, enforces fair housing laws, and funds community development programs.

A housing bubble is a period of rapidly rising home prices driven by high demand, loose lending, or speculation that eventually collapses when the market can no longer support inflated values.

A HUD home is a house that was foreclosed on and bought with an FHA-insured mortgage. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development now owns it and sells it to the public, usually for less than market value.

With an installment loan, you get a large sum of money upfront and then pay it back in fixed, scheduled payments over a certain amount of time.

An interest rate floor is the lowest rate a variable-rate loan can ever reach. It is a contractually set minimum that keeps the borrower's rate from going below a certain level, no matter how low market rates go.

An interest-only mortgage is a home loan that lets you pay only the interest charges for a set number of years before your payment rises to include principal repayment.

An investment property is a piece of real estate that someone buys to make money from rent payments, price increases, or both, instead of living in it themselves.