The amount of equity you have in your home changes with time, market conditions and outstanding mortgages. Increases in the value of your home will increase the amount of equity accrued, as will decreases in mortgage debt. To calculate the amount of equity accrued, you need to know the current value of your home, which is difficult or impossible to do on your own. For accurate information, you should hire a professional appraiser, who will assess the condition of your home and current market conditions.
Hire a professional appraiser to evaluate your property. This will tell you how much your property is worth.
Total the outstanding mortgages or liens on the property. If you have a primary mortgage and a second mortgage, add both outstanding debts. Call the lenders and request the payoff amount for each mortgage. This will tell you exactly how much you still owe.
Subtract the outstanding debt from the value of your property to calculate equity accrued. As an example, if your home is worth $200,000, but you owe $100,000 on the primary mortgage and $40,000 on a second mortgage, your total equity is $60,000.
References
- Internal Revenue Service. "Home Mortgage Interest Deduction 2016." Page 2. Accessed Aug. 29, 2020.
- Internal Revenue Service. "Publication 5307." Page 5. Accessed Aug. 29, 2020.
- Internal Revenue Service. "Publication 936: Home Mortgage Interest Deduction." Accessed May 12, 2020.
- Internal Revenue Service. "Interest on Home Equity Loans Often Still Deductible Under New Law." Accessed Aug. 29, 2020.
Writer Bio
C. Taylor embarked on a professional writing career in 2009 and frequently writes about technology, science, business, finance, martial arts and the great outdoors. He writes for both online and offline publications, including the Journal of Asian Martial Arts, Samsung, Radio Shack, Motley Fool, Chron, Synonym and more. He received a Master of Science degree in wildlife biology from Clemson University and a Bachelor of Arts in biological sciences at College of Charleston. He also holds minors in statistics, physics and visual arts.