Home Equity Calculator

Home equity is the difference between a property's current value and the balances secured by it. This calculator keeps those components visible: enter the home value, first-mortgage balance, and any second-lien balance. It reports equity, primary loan-to-value (LTV), and combined LTV so you can see how the total debt relates to the value you entered.

That number is a planning snapshot. A property value can change, an appraisal can differ from an estimate, and a lender can consider title, lien priority, product rules, income, credit, payment history, costs, and other requirements. The page does not fetch any of those facts. Use the output to organize a question for a lender or counselor, not to assume funds are available.

The calculation has only three core lines. It subtracts first and second liens from the entered value to get equity. It divides each relevant balance by value to show LTV. If you choose a cap for a borrowing scenario, it multiplies the value by that cap and subtracts all existing liens; a negative result is set to zero.

The cap is an input for sensitivity testing, not an eligibility promise.

Assume an entered home value of $500,000, a primary mortgage balance of $260,000, and a second-lien balance of $40,000. Total liens are $300,000, so the model reports $200,000 of equity and a combined LTV of 60%. If you test an 80% cap, the cap balance is $400,000. Subtracting the $300,000 of existing liens produces a $100,000 modeled available amount.

The $100,000 is not the same thing as equity, and it is not an offer. It is the amount left under that particular cap after the balances you entered. Change the home value, cap, or second-lien balance and the scenario changes immediately. For a replacement-first-mortgage scenario that includes cash, use the Cash-Out Refinance Calculator.

This page can estimate a fixed payment for a selected amount, rate, and term. That resembles an installment loan scenario, which is useful when checking a home-equity loan against the household budget. The CFPB describes a home equity loan as a lump sum secured by home equity, often with a fixed rate.

A HELOC is different: it can permit repeated borrowing during a draw period, may have a variable rate, and can have a later repayment phase with different payments. The fixed-payment box here does not replicate that lifecycle. Keep the actual product disclosure next to any calculator scenario.

The page includes a simple value sensitivity so you can see how a small change in the entered value changes a cap-based scenario. That is not a forecast of the market. It is a way to avoid treating one estimate as immovable. A lower value and the same balances raise LTV and reduce the space under the selected cap.

Do the same with a borrowing payment: test a rate and term change, then add the resulting payment to the existing mortgage and other obligations in a household budget. Use the Loan Calculator to inspect the payment schedule for a separately defined fixed-rate loan, and use the Mortgage Payoff Calculator when the question is accelerating the existing mortgage instead of taking on new debt.

1. Write down where the property-value figure came from and its date.
2. Use current payoff or statement balances for every lien you include.
3. Label the selected LTV cap as an assumption until a lender supplies its own terms.
4. For any borrowing scenario, record the rate type, term, fees, payment change rules, and collateral risk.
5. Run a household-budget check with the new payment before relying on the displayed amount.

Use the page's issue form if its math, wording, or source note appears wrong. Please do not submit addresses, account numbers, statements, or other sensitive information.