How Can I Build Equity Into My House?

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

Ben & Julie Koerner real estate agent

Written by

Ben & Julie Koernerelite badge icon

Realty Executives

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

In legal terms, the definition of null and void (“void ab initio”) can describe an agreement that has no force or binding power. Therefore, it’s neither valid nor legally ...

Latin term meaning legal capacity to act on behalf of oneself. ...

Measure of central tendency that is a measure of the center of the data; also called an average. Mean and standard deviation are the two most widely used statistical measures that summarize ...

Wondering what For Rent By Owner (FRBO) means?It’s the more popular cousin of For Sale By Owner (FSBO). For Rent By Owner (FRBO) are really common; it’s the name we give to ...

Ownership interest in property that is above the minimum needed to meet uncertainties or a downward trend in real estate market. ...

The direction in which a community is growing. Directional growth is measured over time, and its path strongly influences current and future market values of those properties clearly in ...

Outline or diagram of a structure or group of structures used for planning purposes. ...

Inverted gable roof design where the two side slope upward from the center to the eaves with a valley in the middle. The roof resembles the wings of a butterfly, hence, the name. ...

Part of something such as the units making up a heating or air conditioning system in a building. ...