Our current status
As of the date at the top of this page, The Homeowner Guide has no advertising and no affiliate links. We do not earn money when you click a link in our guides or buy a product or service we mention. No company has paid to be mentioned, ranked, reviewed or linked in any article.
When we name an agency, program, product type or service, it is because it is relevant to the question we are answering, usually because it is the official source of the information.
Why we are telling you this
Many websites about homes, insurance and personal finance earn commissions when readers buy a policy, a home warranty or a service. That is not wrong in itself, but readers deserve to know when money is involved, because it can shape what a site recommends. The Federal Trade Commission’s guidance on endorsements also expects clear disclosure of material connections. We want our position to be clear before you rely on anything we write.
If this changes in the future
The site may add clearly labelled affiliate or partner links or advertising in the future to support the work. If it does, these rules will apply:
- This page comes first. We will update this disclosure before any affiliate link, partner link or ad appears on the site.
- Clear labels. Affiliate and partner links will be marked as such near the link, and articles that contain them will carry a visible disclosure near the top. Ads will be labelled as advertising and kept visually separate from editorial content.
- Technical marking. Paid and affiliate links will use the
rel="sponsored"attribute, the standard way of telling search engines a link is commercial. - No influence on conclusions. Commercial relationships will never change our editorial conclusions, rankings or recommendations. Topics will continue to be chosen by what homeowners need to know, and we will still tell you when the best option is a free official resource or doing nothing at all.
- No paid placement in editorial content. We will not accept payment to include, exclude, rank or rewrite anything in our guides, and we will not publish sponsored content disguised as editorial content.
- No change to sourcing. Facts will still come from primary sources and be cited and dated, as described in our editorial policy and methodology.
Advertising and your privacy
The site does not use advertising cookies, ad networks, tracking pixels or marketing trackers. If advertising is ever added, our privacy policy and cookie policy will be updated beforehand to describe any new data collection, and consent will be requested where it is required. We will continue to honor Global Privacy Control signals.
Products and services we mention
Our guides sometimes describe types of products or services, such as home warranties, flood insurance or professional inspections, so you understand how they work and what to ask. A mention is not an endorsement, and you should compare options and read contract terms yourself. See our disclaimer.
How to tell editorial content from commercial content
If commercial links or ads are ever added, here is what you can expect to see, so you can tell the difference at a glance:
- Editorial content is the guide itself: the explanation, the cited sources and the dates. It is written and reviewed by The Homeowner Guide Editorial Team under the standards in our editorial policy.
- Affiliate or partner links would carry a visible label next to the link, and the article would include a short disclosure near the top explaining that we may earn a commission.
- Advertising would be marked “Advertisement” or similar, and placed so it cannot be mistaken for part of a guide.
Until then, every link in our guides is an ordinary editorial link, most often to a government agency, a state department, a county office or a standards body.
Questions or concerns
If you believe a link or mention on the site looks commercial, or you have a question about how the site is funded, email or use the contact form. We aim to reply within 3 business days.
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