Home Equity Shocker

"Do you know how much home equity is available to you?" the ad banner beckoned. I'll freely admit that I ignore most of these things, but this one caught my eye, for some reason. "Just use our eAppraisal Calculator," the banner continued. "Calculate your home's equity now!" How could I possibly resist the temptation to examine the potential for a home equity loan? So I clicked on the banner to check it out ...

The subsequent web page asked for a street number, street name, zip code, and word caption (as home equity seeking bot-prevention, no doubt). I filled in the information and click the submit button.

Lo and behold, it returned my complete street address, along with the lot size, number of stories, last sale price, and last sale date.

That I kinda sorta expected.

But what was the most amazing part of the response?

While the page drew blanks on the dwelling area, number of bedrooms and baths, it delivered two mighty powerful monetary figures: high and low value estimates of ranchero indebto's current market value.

The numbers were mind boggling.

I know what we paid for the ranch way-back-when, but I had no idea what it might be worth.

Not that We're considering selling. Well, not yet, at least.

The market looks like it's slowing down. I've noticed more and more real estate signs popping up on the houses around town, and they've seemed to linger for longer than I'd be comfortable with ... were I the selling party.

But that's okay.

I have a built-it-and-they-will-come ballpark price in mind and, more importantly, a time frame: when it's time for the kids to go to college.

Related: Home Equity Loans and Lines of Credit