Deductions & credits

To be counted as a deductible mortgage, the loan does not have to be made by a bank, but the loan must be secured by the home.  The generally means that you signed a promissory note allowing the lender to take your home if you fail to make payments, and (depending on state law) the note must be "perfected" by being filed as a lien against the property at the county clerk's office where deeds and titles are recorded.