Realized 1031 Glossary of Terms

Hard Asset

A hard asset is a type of asset with underlying intrinsic value that can be used to produce or purchase other goods or services. Hard assets typically include commodities such as oil, natural gas, gold, silver, and diamonds, as well as other tangible assets such as farmland and commercial real estate.

Hard Cost

Also called “brick and mortar expenses,” hard costs are any costs involved in the physical construction of a project. Included in hard costs are

Hard Money Loan

Hard money loan is a type of asset-based loan financing through which a borrower receives funds secured by real property. Hard money loans are typically issued by

Health Insurance

Health insurance is a type of policy that protects an individual from being liable for the total costs of medical and surgical expenses incurred in the event of illness or injury. Employers often include healthcare insurance in benefits packages to attract highly skilled workers. Insurance plans often require policyholders to seek care from a defined network of care providers and dictate that policyholders pay a higher percentage of costs if they obtain care from providers outside that network.

Health Ratio

A health ration, also known as an occupancy cost ratio, it the relationship between a retailer’s sales and total occupancy costs.

Hedge

A hedge is an investment used to reduce an individual or entity’s risk of exposure to adverse price movements. It is an insurance policy that protects an investor against the downside risk associated with an investment in a particular security.

A car manufacturer may hedge its exposure to fluctuations in the price of steel by purchasing a futures contract that will allow it to purchase steel at a fixed price over a specific period of time. This is attractive to the car manufacturer because it is able to project a stable budget over this period of time and reduce its exposure to a spike in the price of steel, which would result in a spike in its cost of production of a vehicle.

Held for Investment

Properties held for investment purposes can be any property or asset that are acquired and held for income production (rental or leasing activities) or

HOA Fees

Membership fees that must be paid by an owner of property within a homeowner association’s jurisdiction. HOA fees are collected to pay for maintenance and improvements of properties owned by the association, including common areas or necessary features such as roofing or elevators. HOA fees are very common in condominium developments, but can exist in neighborhoods of single family homes.

Holding Period

Holding period is the real or expected period of time which an investment is attributable to a particular investor.

Holding Title

Holding title refers to the legal structure in which title to real property is owned. In the sale of real property, the title must be transferred from the seller to the buyer

Homeowners Association (HOA)

Homeowners Association is an organization within a living community that creates and enforces a set of rules for the properties within its jurisdiction. Residents that own property within an HOA’s area of authority automatically become members and are subject to HOA fees. Property types that are often apart of associations include subdivisions, planned communities, or condominiums.

Human Capital

Human capital is an intangible measure of the quality of a firm’s employees. The level of a firm’s human capital can be gauged by the level of education, experience and skills of its employees.

Though it cannot be measured on a balance sheet or various other financial statements, human capital is critical to a firm’s success. Higher quality human capital will translate to increased productivity and profitability. Firm’s can grow human capital by compensating employee’s fairly and/or offering attractive benefits to workers in exchange for exceptional performance.