Skip to main content

Should You Tap Into Your Home Equity?

 

When you put 20% down on a home using a mortgage loan, you own 20% and the lender owns 80%. As you make payments, most of the money goes to pay interest while some goes toward reducing your principal. Meanwhile, favorable market conditions may be increasing the market value of your home, giving you instant equity.

Equity is the amount of the home that you own, much like a savings account that pays interest on money you want to keep growing. After a few years, you may want to tap into that money to carry out home improvements, make a down payment on a second property, or pay off credit cards and other bills. Is it a good idea to use your equity?

The answer is this: you’re putting your home in deeper debt, so your reasons for using equity instead of another means of borrowing or consolidating must be worth the risk.

Home improvements are designed to add value to your home, a sure thing that will net you more money when you decide to sell it one day. Making a down payment on another home is riskier—as you’ll have two mortgages—but if you can afford it, you’ll have two properties potentially building equity.

Credit cards are unsecured debt so interest rates are high. Home equity loans are far less costly, so you could get much relief by paying credit cards off. However, you must avoid “reloading” the cards with new charges, which will take dedication and self-discipline.



Jeffery Williams  Associate Broker

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices

520 Ocean Blvd, St. Simons Island, GA 31522

Ofc: 912-291-3428

https://jefferywilliams.hodnettcooperrealestate.com/

https://linktr.ee/jeff_williams_realtor



Designations & Specialties

Resort & Second Homes Market Specialist®

Military Relocation Professional®

rCertified® Relocation Specialist

eCertified® The Next Generation

Brookfield GRS Broker Certification

Certified Red Book Contracts Specialist®

BHHS eTeam Member

BHHS Spanish Speaking Team

Verified Rocket Homes® Agent



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Christmas Creek Entrance

UPDATE: 10-25-13 The Christmas Creek entrance this year is to the North of the creek mouth.  As you go South along Cumberland Beach you'll see the shoaling a few hundred yards East of the mouth of the creek.  Enter Christmas Creek between the shoaling and the beach as you go South.  As you enter the entrance between the shoals and the beach, look for your hard right turn to go directly into the creek mouth.  Best to try at least an hour after low tide for that area.  If you plan on coming out after high tide, best to be at the mouth no later than 4 1/2 hours after high tide unless your boat draws less than a foot like flats boats and Carolina Skifs.  I like to go in about an hour after low tide and fish through the rising tide and then make my way out.   I made this update because this Blog post is one of my top posts which I wouldn't have know when I originally wrote it. Christmas Creek has some of the best fishing around and if you are...
Post a Comment
Read more

How to catch Blue Crabs on St. Simons Island

I know I love to eat our local blue crabs and if you do too, then here is an excellent video from Capt. Mark Noble.  Mark has been a long time friend of mine and he grew up on St. Simons Island.  There are many ways to catch blue crabs and in this video Mark can show you how he does it.  You don't need a boat either - I've caught some beautiful stone crabs with a crab net right off one of the many docks that surround the area.  Many times, I'll hang a crab net off the back of my boat while I'm fishing and catch plenty.  So a crab net off the St. Simons Pier or one or two of the crab baskets in this video and you can have yourself a big time. Here's Mark's website - he is one of the top charter captains around so check him out if you'd like to take a Golden Isles fishing charter.  http://www.georgiafishing.net I shot the video and edited this for Mark and as my reward, he let me take the crabs home for a terrific family crab boil!   ...
Post a Comment
Read more

4th of July on St. Simons Island Georgia

It really has been a super busy July 4th week!  Of course there were fireworks on the 4th and we watched them from East Beach on St. Simons Island.  From our vantage point, you could see the fireworks on Jekyll Island, St. Simons Island AND Sea Island.  Three for the price of one!  The weather was perfect albeit a bit warm but sitting on the beach at night with fireworks going off was just a fun time.  St. Simons Island is always busy around the 4th of July and this year was no exception.  Visitors flocked to our island and hotels, condos and rental homes all seemed to be maxed out.  The weekend after the 4th was just as busy with the big event being the St. Simons Island Kids Fishing Rodeo.  This is an annual event hosted by Captain Billy Bice.  It is a very easy going children's fishing tournament where you catch a Redfish - Whiting - Bluefish (Red White and Blue).  Every child wins a prize and kids who catch all three of the...
1 comment
Read more