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Real Estate & Finance News That Affects Your Home                                                                                             Page  1 2 3 4

OCTOBER 2009 - Page 3

EQUITY MATTERS How Much Of Your Home Do You Own Now? Homeowners facing possible foreclosure are especially vulnerable to the various schemes employed by today's con artists. Don't fall prey to their promises. The best first step is to call your lender at once if you think you may miss your mortgage payment. Are you thinking about refinancing your home or selling it and buying another one? Whether you are able to do either may depend on how much equity you have in your home. Lenders today are requiring more equity for refinancing and larger down payments for new mortgages, compared with the days of the housing boom. Given recent declines in home prices in general, some homeowners are no longer sure how much their homes are worth and, therefore, aren't sure how much of their homes they really own. Often would-be refinancers and buyers don't learn the answer until after the lender has had the property appraised. If the appraisal comes up short, the homeowners may not be able to refinance or buy their next home -- and be disappointed after paying hundreds of dollars in up-front fees. You do have several alternatives, however: Check your tax assessment and see how much it has changed since you last knew what your home was worth. Although tax assessments are often not equivalent to market value, the difference between your old assessment and your current one can give you a rough idea of how your home's value has increased or decreased. Study recent list and sold prices of comparable homes in your area. Some of this information may be gleaned from your local newspaper or online from companies such as Zillow.com and Trulia.com. Be aware, however, the estimated prices on these public data one-formula-fits-all services often don't reflect real-world market values today. Call on us! We have all of the most recent market data about homes in your area as well as a finger on the pulse of local trends. Let us run a Comparative Market Analysis of your home to estimate what its true market value is likely to be. Our analysis will show you whether you might have enough equity to qualify for refinancing or to purchase your next home. Better still, our service is free!