What we did - and it was to divide and settle the assets in an estate - was to have a realtor come out and do what is called a "market analysis". There is generally a charge for this and I can't tell you what it is since I'm unsure - and since our neighbor in real estate did it for us as a favor.

I wouldn't trust the property tax bill appraised value as being accurate.

Can you make a guess based on selling prices of similar homes in your area? You only need to guess. The bank will come out and tell you what they think. When I got a second, the lender started with my purchase price and factored in how many years I lived there. I know their number was way too high. :) They didn't even come out to look at the house.

Try homepricecheck.com. It basically will list recent sales in the general vicinity of your home. Note though it is not always current, so take that into consideration.

Some time back I made application to my Credit Union for a Home Equity Line of Credit...just in case I wanted some 'fast' money. They were offering a 'special' at the time...no application fee, free appraisal, and an attractive interest rate.

They had someone come out and do the appraisal.

Are you thinking about getting the loan on line, or just using on line for a starting point? I'd suggest you checking into your local places too, if you haven't already.

Sue

I used the value from Zillow.com. It's not perfect, but it was close enough.

Hi gammyt,

Unless you have a fairly high-ratio mortgage or are seeking a substantial loan, quite likely the lender may not be too worried about a precise evaluation.

That said, though, with the recent mortgage problems, and general reduction in prices of homes in quite a few areas, perhaps they will be quite concerned, more so than they would have been a year or so ago.

In any case, as part of the procedure related to setting up the loan, they may very well come out to make an evaluation on their own. Quite likely charging for doing so.

If you have a connection with a realtor, quite likely that person would give you an estimate, even if only a rough one made after hearing a full description of the various aspects of the home, without coming out to look at it.

Knowing nothing of your circumstances, other debts, including student, auto or of other kinds, I cannot speak with any knowledge of your situation.

That said, I hope that you will make an attempt to get this loan that you are contemplating, paid off over a short term, if possible, especially if the reasons behind it have provided only a short-term benefit.

When I see folks making a loan that they plan to pay off over, say, a five year period ...

... to finance a vacation which will take place this year only, it troubles me some.

For the cost of that vacation is not only the money laid out now, but includes also the total amount of interest paid on that loan over the full term that one carries it. And repayment of the principal and interest is effectively a reduction in effective income over all of the period that you carry it.

I am especially troubled, having been a personal financial advisor for a numbr of years, to see folks add such expenses to their e.g. 25 year mortgage ...

... which means that they'll be paying it off, plus interest, for 25 years.

And, if they arrange to make no increase in the amount of their regular payment, it means that they don't really start paying off the principal of that loan until all of the earlier part of the mortgage is fully paid off - what, 15 years (oe more) down the road?

What sense does it make to take a vacation, even buy a car, now ... and not start paying off the loan for 15 years?

If you'd made a serious effort to have paid off the loan over a short period ...

... think of all of the other interesting/useful/enjoyable things that you could have done with all of that interest plus principal expense!

Enough preaching ... about an issue that's none of my business!

Good wishes for increasing skill at management of both your income and assets - nobody cares as much about your money as you (except someone that'd like to shift some of it from your pocket into his/hers).

ole joyful

Thanks all, from the webites you listed our home is worth more than we thought.

Joyful, we are penny pinchers and would only be pulling out our original downpayment but not for stuff. Cancer is expensive even with health insurance.

gammyt,

Yes, that it is. I'm sorry that you have to cope with such a difficult situation.

I hope that you can get your loan arranged without undue hardship.

And such illness is more expensive for you than for us.

My children were with their mother recently while she fought colon cancer for about three-quaters of a year.

They had no complaint whatever about the care which she received.

I don'know how much it cost her out-of-pocket, but I think not a large amount.

She, an Iowa girl, had lived in Canada since 1963 and was head of food service in a major (psychiatric) hospital for over 20 years.

Our children have dual citizenship. Son, since infancy, has always lived here, daughter did for most of her life, but recently moved to Arizona, having spent a few years there, several years ago.

Good wishes to you and yours, sending good thoughts and prayers for your illness. May you be blessed with skilled and caring practitioners.

ole joyful