How to Increase the Value of Your Home with Sweat Equity
Renovating your home on your own requires time, money, and sweat. Sweat equity rewards that hard work! Sweat equity differs from home equity but provides similar benefits, including the ability to refinance your mortgage payments and pay college tuition. So how does it work?
How Does Sweat Equity Work?
Equity is the value of your home or property minus what you owe on the current mortgage. With sweat equity, you can subtract the estimated
cost of renovations – including time, work, and supplies – from the mortgage, increasing your equity. Once you’ve increased your home equity, you can apply for a home equity loan or line of credit to complete more significant projects, pay other loans, or even fund college tuition.
What Counts as Sweat Equity?
Remodeling
When the kids move out, rooms open up. Remodeling a spare bedroom into a walk-in closet and attaching a bathroom to a new master bedroom are incredibly valuable home remodels. Other remodeling projects include finishing the basement, converting a closet to a home office, or installing new floors. These major remodels all increase your home’s equity.
Renovating
Renovating includes staining hardwood floors, updating doors, and installing crown molding. It can also include getting new appliances, installing new cabinetry, etc. These are the DIY projects that many new homeowners love! And they increase your home’s
value – and its equity, too.
If you’ve gained a lot of sweat equity with your renovations and remodels, apply for a home equity loan today or talk to a Horizon Bank advisor to learn more.