A New Year’s Resolution – Review Your Home Equity

Every December, people start thinking about how they’re going to change their lives in the New Year. They’re going to quit smoking, or they’re going to lose weight, or they’re going to fix some other bad habit they currently have. But New Year’s resolutions shouldn’t just revolve around your lifestyle and what you’d like to change about it – they should also be about your life, and what you’re going to do with it in the coming year! That’s why this December, every homeowner should review their home equity, and determine if it could help them in 2012.
Why is it so important to review your home equity for the New Year? Simply put, because your life may not be the same next year as it was this year. Are you going to be selling your home in the next few years? Next year might be the perfect time to make those renovations to help you sell. Are you or your child getting married in the upcoming year? Going to school? Need braces? A home equity loan could help with all of these things! Are you going to be purchasing an investment property and renting it out, or that quaint little cottage you’ve had your eye on for family getaways? A second mortgage is the perfect way to help finance the down payment for that property!
All of these situations are things that might arise in 2012, and they’re all great reasons to tap into your home equity and help make this one of the best years ever. But, even if you don’t think there will be any life-changing events in your life next year, it’s still vitally important that you review your home equity and how much you currently have invested in it. But, why, if you’re not planning on using it?
Well even if you live extremely frugally, and you never spend a penny more than you have to, chances are good that you still know the amount you have in your bank account. Of course you do! You need to know how much money you currently have available to you, even if you plan on saving it for the next several years. And the same concept applies to your home equity. As a homeowner, you simply need to know how much equity you currently have in your home, and how much is available to you should you need it.
No one knows what the future holds, and unexpected situations come up all the time – situations where you will need that money! And that’s why, not just this year but every year, every homeowner should review their home equity. Simply because, you need to know where you stand – especially in an investment as important as your home.