How do I find out how much equity I have in my Texas home?

• Equity = market value minus what you owe. If you have a first mortgage and a home equity loan or line of credit, subtract both.
• Your appraisal district value is not your sale price. That number exists for property taxes. Market value comes from recent sales of comparable homes.
• Your statement balance is not your payoff. The payoff includes interest up to the day the loan is paid off, plus any fees that apply.
• Equity is not the same as cash in hand. When you sell, selling costs come out first. What is left is your real number.
• That real number drives your next move. Together with what a lender confirms, it tells you how big your next step can be.

1. Your market value. This is what a buyer would pay for your home today, as it is. It is built by comparing your home with similar homes that sold recently nearby: size, bedrooms, lot, age, condition, upgrades. An agent does this with MLS data; an appraiser does it when a loan is involved.
2. Your appraisal district value, as a reference only. Every Texas county has an appraisal district that values your home for property taxes. You can look it up on the district's website by address. It tells you how you will be taxed. It was never designed to tell you what your home will sell for, and it often does not match.
3. What you owe: the payoff. Your monthly statement shows a balance. The number that matters at closing is the payoff: principal, interest through a specific date, and any fees. You request it in writing from your servicer. Under federal rules, the servicer must send it within a reasonable time and no later than seven business days after receiving a written request.
4. Anything else secured by the house. A second mortgage, a home equity loan or a line of credit gets paid off at closing too.
5. The subtraction. Market value minus everything owed on the house. That is your equity.
6. What you walk away with. From equity, subtract the costs of selling: the commission, which we agree on in writing before we start; the seller closing costs in your contract; your share of property taxes up to closing day; and any repairs or buyer credits you negotiate. What remains is what lands in your account.

Here's what happens next: if you want your market value built from real sales near you, I will prepare it. Get your home's real value, no commitment.

You check three sites and get three values. None of them is lying, and none of them has been inside your house. Automated estimates use public records: square footage, bedrooms, year built, nearby sales. They do not know you redid the kitchen, replaced the roof, back up to green space, or that the house down the street sold in rough shape.

An online estimate is a starting point, not a decision number. If you are deciding whether to sell, when, and what to buy next, you need a value built from the sales that truly match your home, explained line by line.

• Using the appraisal district value as your list price. It is the official-looking number that arrives in the mail, so people trust it. It does a different job. Sometimes it is under market and sometimes over.
• Subtracting your statement balance instead of your payoff. The gap is usually small, but on a plan with dates and a down payment riding on it, small matters. The payoff is what the title company actually pays at closing.
• Forgetting the second lien. A HELOC or an improvement loan secured by the home gets paid at closing. Leave it out and your number looks bigger than it is.
• Treating equity as cash. That math used to be how everyone did it. What changed is that selling costs and timing matter, especially when that money is the down payment on your next home.
• Waiting without knowing your number. Plenty of families spend years assuming they cannot move, when the down payment they did not have before is already sitting in their house. Finding out does not commit you to anything.

Picture a family in Frisco who bought years ago and now needs another bedroom and a real office, because one of them runs a business from home. One website gave a value they liked. Another did not. The appraisal district notice said something else.

Step one was a market value built from similar homes that sold nearby, with an explanation of why some sales matched and others did not. Step two was a written payoff request to their servicer. Then came the subtraction, and then the selling costs, to see what would actually be left.

With that number on paper, they sat down with a lender who works with self-employed income. Here's what that means for you: once you know your real equity, the lender conversation stops being "let's see what they say" and becomes a plan with numbers. This is an example, not a real client; every home and every loan is different.

• Your market value: built from recent comparable sales, with the reasoning shown. I can prepare it for you (how to request it is below).
• Your payoff: request it in writing from your servicer, with an estimated payoff date.
• Other loans or liens: review your statements; the title company searches for them before closing anyway.
• Your selling costs: run them in the walk-away calculator.
• Your appraisal district value: look it up on your county appraisal district's site, only to understand your taxes.
• Your buying plan: if you are selling and buying, read how the down payment for your next house may be in your current one.

That is the most common reason families ask me about equity. There are several options: sell first and buy second, buy first using a loan that taps your current home, or line up both closings so you only move once. Which one fits depends on your equity, your income, what a lender confirms, and how much cushion you want.

On the moves Veronica Yeary guides in Dallas-Fort Worth, equity gets calculated before the sign goes up, not after. That way the family knows what they can buy and in what order, and nobody signs something they do not understand. For the rest of the picture, read what you walk away with when you sell in DFW and how selling and buying at the same time works.

This is not loan or tax advice. Your lender confirms how your equity can be used, and your CPA confirms the tax side.

What is home equity?

It is the part of your home you already own: what it is worth on the market today minus what you still owe on it. It grows as you pay down your mortgage and as your home's value rises. It shrinks if you borrow against the house.

Is my appraisal district value the same as my home's value?

No. Your county appraisal district sets a value for property taxes. Market value is what a buyer would pay today, based on recent sales of similar homes. The two can be far apart.

How do I find out exactly what I owe on my mortgage?

Request a payoff statement in writing from your mortgage servicer. It shows principal, interest through a specific date and any fees. Federal rules require the servicer to send it no later than seven business days after receiving your written request.

Is my equity the amount I get when I sell?

Not quite. Selling costs come out first, including the commission, which we agree on in writing before we start, seller closing costs and your share of property taxes through closing. What remains is what reaches your account.

Can I use my equity as the down payment on my next home?

Yes, that is the most common way families move up. There are several ways to do it, and a lender confirms which one fits your situation. The first step is knowing your real number.

Knowing your equity does not commit you to selling. It gives you a number to decide with, calmly. I will prepare your market value from real comparable sales and walk you through every line.

Get your home's real value, no commitment: veronicayeary.com/home-value

Call or text 469-441-8890 · veronica@veronicayeary.com