What is a Home Office Expense? A home office expense refers to the costs incurred through the performance of business activities within a primary residence. When work performed in the home office produces outside income, the Internal Revenue Service allows business owners to make a tax deduction from the annual tax return if they meet…
What is a Home Warranty? A home warranty is a contract provided to the homeowner covering repairs and replacement services for a certain period of time. Home warranty requires a house buyer to comply with the maintenance schedule verified by periodic inspection from the contract’s date. It can be compared to a home insurance contract,…
What is a Home Equity Loan? A home equity loan is a type of consumer borrowing that allows homeowners to borrow and use personal equity in residential property as collateral. Such a type of loan is also known as a second mortgage or home equity installment. The loan amount is determined by the current market…
What is Hollowing Out? Hollowing out is a phrase used to describe conditions and trends in the economies of developed nations that are the result of many middle-class, blue-collar manufacturing jobs being outsourced to developing countries. The outsourcing, or “offshoring,” of both manufacturing and low-level service jobs, is considered one of the predominant trends in…
What is Home Bias? Home bias, which might more appropriately be termed home country bias, refers to the tendency of equity investors to favor investing in domestic stocks over investing in the stocks of foreign companies. The overwhelming majority of investors exhibit a high degree of home bias, which can be seen in the high…
What is Home Equity? Home equity is the value of a homeowner’s unencumbered ownership interest in the property that is their home. Another way of expressing home equity is to say that it’s the portion of your home’s market value that is free and clear of your mortgage loan obligation. Home equity is…
What is a Home Inspection? A home inspection is a non-invasive assessment of a property’s current condition – often conducted before buying it. Home inspections are typically performed by a professional home inspector who looks for malfunctions, any needed repairs, and other issues that need to be fixed. Generally, a home inspector examines various aspects,…
What is Mutually Exclusive? Mutually exclusive is used to describe when two or more respective outcomes cannot occur simultaneously. If one of the results is chosen, all the other possible outcomes cannot be true at the same time. The most basic and commonly used example is a coin toss. With every toss of a coin,…
What is a Defined-Benefit Plan? A defined-benefit plan is an employer-promised specified/pre-determined pension payment plan that can be received in a lump sum, periodically, or both. The payment plan is “defined” in advance and based on the employee’s earnings history, tenure, and age – not solely on the individual investment returns. For most…
What are Earnings? Earnings refer to the income that an individual or organization gains during a certain period. They can be found on a company’s income statement and are used to measure the profitability of that company. Higher recurring earnings usually indicate better financial performance and can positively impact stock prices. However, the…
