Primary residence
The home you live in most of the year. Loans, tax breaks, and insurance are often better for a primary residence than for a second home or rental.
Also called: primary home, principal residence, owner-occupied
Related terms
A home you use part of the year in addition to your main residence. Lenders price it differently than a primary home or a rental and may limit renting it out.
A program that lowers property taxes, and sometimes protects equity from creditors, on a primary residence. You often must apply, and rules vary by state.
Tax on the profit from selling an asset, based on the sale price minus your cost basis. Many homeowners can exclude part of the gain on a primary residence they have lived in long enough.
Real estate bought to rent to tenants for income rather than to live in. Lenders, insurers and tax rules treat it differently from a primary residence.
Living in one part of a property and renting out the rest, such as other units, rooms or an ADU, to offset housing costs. It often lets buyers use owner-occupied loans with lower down payments.