How Can I Build Equity Into My House?

Definition of "How can I build equity into my house?"

Bruce Griffy real estate agent

Written by

Bruce Griffyelite badge icon

LPT Realty LLC

Are you wondering how to speed things up with your mortgage payment? Thinking how to build equity to your home”?

Well, by paying off your mortgage. The more you do, the more percentage of the asset you gain; that’s obvious.

But when you ask “how can I build equity into my home” you are not thinking about the obvious, right? You want to know the tricks! So here are some little neat ones:

Pay More

When making your monthly mortgage payment, try to send a little bit more than the amount you are required to pay every month. So, if you’re monthly payment is $1,000, you should try paying $1,100, even though you are not required to do so.

Here’s why: when you pay over the amount you are required to pay, the outstanding amount goes directly to the principal of the loan rather than the interest. So, even an extra $50 per month can build equity into your home, as well as knock years off of your loan.

Make some home improvements

Making home improvements will make your home worth more, so while it won’t improve the growth of your home equity percentage-wise, it will make whatever percentage you own worth more. The great thing is that you can do this on your own with DIY home improvements to increase your home value. And why not implementing some ideas to improve curb appeal within the property?

Refinance

If your earning improves, try applying for a refinance. Bringing your 30-year mortgage to a 15-year mortgage will make you accrue bigger percentages of your home equity. But we advise to be cautious with this one. Refinance is not simple, so check your credit score and your overall debt-to-income ratio.

As you can see, most of the times the answer to “how can I build equity to my home” involves spending money. Haven’t you ever heard “you have to spend money to make money”? That’s the case right here. Equity in a home can only be acquired via money, so you might speed things here and there and sometimes not take it out of your pocket – say the area develops and you bought-in early, so the percentage you had is worth more now – but in all cases you will only get it by making the lender recuperate whatever he put in that loan.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Real Estate Questions

Popular Real Estate Glossary Terms

One of series of parallel beams directly supporting a floor or a roof. Joists can be made out of wood, steel or steel reinforced concrete. Joists are in turn supported by other beams or ...

Rights allowing an insurer to act against a negligent third party to receive reimbursement for payments made to an insured. ...

Precisely the optimum location for a retail business establishment in an urban central business district (CBD). A one-hundred-percent-location normally is a square block or intersection in ...

As a collective noun, land cost means the total cost of purchasing a parcel of land or lot with specific land use and ownership. The land cost includes the purchase price, closing costs, ...

Board used when connected as a floor. It may also be used as a strip in a wall or door. ...

Interests and property directly connected with real property. This would include property leases, fixtures, and access rights. ...

- What are the closing costs?Closing costs are the fees and expenses paid during Closing. They are not included in the final purchase price of the property.- How much are the closing ...

Listing of all of the plats of subdivided plots in a jurisdiction showing the location, boundaries, and plat owners. A plat book normally shows other improvements including roads, blocks, ...

A legal procedure to sell a mortgage property to the highest bidder in order to satisfy a mortgage claim from a mortgagee against the value o the property. A foreclosure sale can occur from ...