What would you do with $200,000 home equity?

[DuckLady]

I agree with everyone.

We have at least that much equity in our home. Values keep going up here or at least are holding steady. We also had other money to invest, so we bought another house with that at a fantastic price and left equity out of the transaction. In a couple years will will likely sell our more valuable home when the market turns even better.

 

[Zookeeper9000]

I am not sure if this is all over but a friend who bought land years ago for a song (under $20,000), now is sitting on land worth millions as the location is out of this world.

When she checked into selling it she was told that she would have to pay something like 40% in gov taxes on any profit she made on the land, unless she used it to buy more land. So make sure you check into that if you decide to sell pay off all debt and then buy for a lower or no payment.

Sorry if this was mentioned already I didn't get to read all the posts.

 

[mom'sfolly]

Sit on the equity...Ditto, ditto, ditto.

Borrowing against your home for other financial ventures, especially in this economy leaves you poor and homeless. Equity loans are just using you house as a credit card. If you wouldn't put $100,000 on a credit card, you shouldn't borrow that much against your house.

 

[horsejody]

Quote:
First of all, I am a stock broker. I have seen people l"loose it all" on their "sure bets." Your money is already invested in your home. Your home will probably be your biggest investment in your life. The biggest mistake you can make is to create debt in the form of a home loan. If you are already lacking income, the monthly payments will make that worse. If you want to use the equity, sell the house, buy something cheaper and spend the difference on another investment. As a financial professional with 23 years in the business, i would strongly advise you not to borrow against your house unless you currently have enough disposable income to make the payments. These things tend to spiral out of control. If you invest in something, it may take years to see a profit. During that time you still have to make the payments.

 

[quercus21]

Quote:
First of all, I am a stock broker. I have seen people l"loose it all" on their "sure bets." Your money is already invested in your home. Your home will probably be your biggest investment in your life. The biggest mistake you can make is to create debt in the form of a home loan. If you are already lacking income, the monthly payments will make that worse. If you want to use the equity, sell the house, buy something cheaper and spend the difference on another investment. As a financial professional with 23 years in the business, i would strongly advise you not to borrow against your house unless you currently have enough disposable income to make the payments. These things tend to spiral out of control. If you invest in something, it may take years to see a profit. During that time you still have to make the payments.

I have to agree