# I Have Equity in My Home. Now What?

By Lavonte Robinson (@lavonterobinson) · Published 2026-08-27

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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.

#### Key Takeaways

-   Home equity is the difference between your home's value and what you owe — your "forced savings" pile
-   Three main ways to access it: cash-out refinance, HELOC, and home equity loan — each with very different math
-   Rates in mid-2026 hover around 6.5% on a 30-year fixed, so the cost of borrowing matters more now than in the low-rate era
-   Debt-to-income ratio and combined loan-to-value are the two numbers lenders care about most
-   Smart uses tend to be value-add (renovations) or high-interest debt consolidation — not vacations or cars

## 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.