So, you are in the market to buy your first home and want to understand its value, or perhaps you own your home and aren’t sure how to make the best use of your home equity. In this episode of Beginner to Buyer, we’ll take you through the basics of home equity and how to realize the true value of your home. Host Nadeska Alexis is first joined by Ronnie and Miriam Lopez to discuss their recent experience buying their first home. They share some of the ups and downs of the process and are open about how family contributions to a down payment helped them to begin their search. They also discuss some of the challenges they faced, including dealing with a prejudiced lender, an unfortunate reminder of some of the lasting inequities in American home buying. Despite this difficult experience, Miriam and Ronnie eventually found a lending agent who helped guide them through the process of building up their credit before eventually getting a loan approval, emphasizing the importance of finding the right team for your home buying journey. Nadeska is then joined by Dan Hofacker, Chase Home Lending collateral Valuations Group Executive, to talk more about the value of your home and how to build equity. Dan explains the relationship between a property’s value and the amount of a mortgage and outlines the appraisal process and everything it entails, as well as situations in which an appraisal may be waived. He also provides examples of how renovations or new appliances can increase the value of a home, and how needed repairs or updates can negatively affect value. Beyond the value of a home, Dan provides a primer on equity— essentially, the difference between what your home is worth and how much you owe on your mortgage. He offers strategies to build equity such as making additional mortgage payments to reduce your loan’s principle, as well as how staying on top of your home’s maintenance and managing repairs early can help prevent damages and loss of your home’s value. For anyone thinking about buying or selling a home, this episode will help you prepare to get the best deal and maximum value on your property. You can read the full transcript on the Chase Website