FINANCIAL PREP

DETERMINE THE VALUE 

One is to simply hire a professional appraiser, who will examine all the data on recent nearby sales and factors in your home’s size, features, age, condition, location and other traits to provide an unbiased estimate. Another way is to ask a real estate agent for a comparative market analysis (CMA), which is a detailed report on recently sold homes in your neighborhood. 

The information in a CMA will help guide you to a competitive asking price. If you’re willing to put in a little time and do the research yourself, you can conduct your comparative market analysis. Once you have an estimate, check out your current mortgage bill or other mortgage documents for the amount you owe your lender, including any second mortgage or line of credit you might have as well. Now you can subtract what you owe from what your house is worth to get a rough idea of your equity. 

If your home is worth approximately $265,000 and you owe $135,000 to your mortgage lender, you have $130,000 of equity. 

Current value of your home – What you owe your mortgage lender = Your equity

$265,000 - $135,000 = $130,000