Equity in Homes? When to Take Them? How to Use Them?

[John Boonphitak]

Hi All,

When it comes to Equity in Homes,

When is the best time to use them?

Can you use them right away if you actually have Equity?

I am just gonna put numbers in for an example and would like to know IF these things are possible to do.

Ex. 

I lived in this home for 4 years.

I have 80,000 in my mortgage to pay.

My current home's market value is 130,000

First, would my Equity be 50,000?

If not, please explain why? The calculation of subtracting MV with what I currently owe equals that.

If this was the amount you had, what would you do with it?

Other than "investing,"

Would it be smart for people to actually put this back into what they still owe on their mortgage to bring it down closer to paying it off?

When is it a good time as an investor to take our your Equity and putting it to use for yourself?