Your home is likely your most valuable asset, and if you've been paying down your mortgage for a few years — or bought when prices were lower — you may be sitting on more equity than you realize. In 2026, U.S. homeowners held an estimated $11 trillion in tappable equity, yet only $47 billion was tapped in the first quarter alone. That gap tells a story: a lot of people wonder whether accessing that money makes sense, but aren't sure how to do it — or if they should.
See what our loan officer, Lavonte Robinson (NMLS# 1771049), says about navigating your home's value: yes, there are smart ways to tap equity, but the wrong move can put your home at risk. Here's what he'd walk through with you before signing anything.
The Equity Math: What You Really Own
Equity is the difference between your home's current market value and your remaining mortgage balance. If your house is worth $400,000 and you owe $250,000, you have $150,000 in equity — nearly 38% of the property. That's the wealth your monthly mortgage payments have quietly building for years. It's forced savings you don't think about until you need it.
Loan-to-value (LTV) is the number lenders actually care about: your loan balance divided by your home's value. In the example above, a $250,000 loan on a $400,000 home is a 62.5% LTV. When you access equity, you create a second loan, and lenders watch your combined loan-to-value (CLTV) — the total of all your mortgage debt divided by the home's value. Most conventional lenders want your CLTV at 80% or below, meaning you keep at least 20% of the home's value unencumbered.
