You’ll often hear homeowners talking about tapping into their home’s equity to solve a variety of financial challenges. But what exactly is home equity? And if you do tap into your home’s equity, how can you use those funds?

Home values continue to rise across the country, which is excellent news for homeowners and real estate investors. However, an unfortunate by-product of increasing home values is a subsequent increase in rent. If you’re currently renting an apartment or home, now may be the ideal time to break free from the rent cycle and invest in a house.

Have you punched the sales price of a house into a mortgage calculator and decided that owning a home costs less than renting? The advantages of homeownership could include investing in an asset, a sense of stability, and predictable mortgage payments.

Home equity is important to have for many reasons, including to borrow against it in the form of a home equity loan or home equity line of credit (HELOC). Home equity represents funds you can use to do any of the following, or more!

You may have been thinking about refinancing your home for a while but thought the opportunity passed you by. However, rates are continuing to hover at near-record lows, making now an ideal time to consider refinancing your mortgage — especially if one of the following four reasons is relevant to you.

First-time homebuyers are frequently shocked that it's much more challenging to qualify for a mortgage than other loan types. Home loans are usually relatively large and have longer loan terms, so they are more of a risk for the lender.