To use Finder's simple equity calculator just enter an estimate of your property's current market value and how much is left on your home loan.
How to calculate your equity
Calculating the equity in your home is easy. You just need to work out the difference between your property value and how much is left on your mortgage.
Property value - remaining loan amount = equity
Example: Your home is currently valued at $600,000. You have $200,000 left on your mortgage.
$600,000 minus $200,000 = $400,000 equity
Now, you won't know the exact value of your home until you actually sell it. But you can estimate the value of your home by looking at a property listing site and checking recent sales in your suburb.
Make sure you look at similar properties to yours to get a clearer estimate. A real estate agent can often give you a free appraisal too.
How to find your loan balance
You can check your current loan balance on your most recent home loan statement or by logging onto your lender's app or online banking platform.
Finder's equity calculator gives you 2 numbers: your total equity and your useable equity. Useable equity is how much of your home's equity a lender will let you borrow. This matters if you're trying to borrow some extra money with a home loan top up or line of credit. Most lenders typically let you borrow around 80% of your home's equity instead of the full amount. But some lenders may be more conservative with this, restricting you to 70% of your total equity. Here are 3 simple ways via which you can access your home equity: When calculating how much home equity you can access there are a few factors you should take into consideration: If you've just started making repayments on your loan you probably don't have much equity. As you repay the loan over time you'll build this equity. Borrowers with low deposit home loans have the least equity. When you start a home loan, the deposit is the total amount of the property you actually own. So if you had a 10% deposit then you'd only have 10% equity at the start. You can build equity by making extra repayments or putting extra money in an offset account. Over time, if property prices grow, this will also increase your equity. This is because while your home loan should shrink over time, any increase in the value of the home is entirely your money. We currently don't have that product, but here are others to consider: The Finder Score crunches 7,000 home loans across 120+ lenders. It takes into account the product's interest rate, fees and features, as well as the type of loan eg investor, variable, fixed rate - this gives you a simple score out of 10. To provide a Score, we compare like-for-like loans. So if you're comparing the best home loans for cashback, you can see how each home loan stacks up against other home loans with the same borrower type, rate type and repayment type. We also take into consideration the amount of cashback offered when calculating the Score so you can tell if it's really worth it.
Must read
Example: Calculating your current home equity
How to access your equity
What can I use my home equity for?
Using your equity means paying interest and growing your debt
What if I don't have much equity?
Compare line of credit home loans
Compare other products
What is Finder Score?
Ask a question
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