How Much Texas Equity Can You Actually Reach?
Program and regulatory figures verified September 17, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Two numbers will tell you whether borrowing against your current Texas home is even on the table.
How much of your Texas equity is actually reachable?
The Texas ceiling is 80 percent of fair market value across everything secured by your homestead, including the mortgage you already have. Enter two numbers.
Illustration only, before closing costs, and not a loan commitment or an appraisal. Your actual number depends on a real valuation and a full review.
What the number means
The calculator applies the constitutional ceiling and nothing else. It does not account for closing costs, it is not an appraisal, and it is not an approval. What it does is answer the threshold question quickly: is there meaningful room under 80 percent, or not?
If the answer is not, you have learned something useful in thirty seconds. Most Texas move-up buyers are in that position, and the route forward is one of the structures on the structures page, most often renting the departing home.
What it deliberately leaves out
Whether you qualify. That is an income and debt question the calculator cannot see, and it is the one that actually decides the transaction. We run it properly in about twenty minutes on a first call.
Background on where the ceiling comes from is on the Texas homestead rules page.
Your real estate agent handles the purchase paperwork and the offer itself. We handle the money: what you qualify for, how the equity gets used, and what the payment looks like.
Frequently asked questions
How much equity can I borrow against in Texas?
Only what fits under 80 percent of fair market value once your existing mortgage is counted. If you owe 70 percent of value, about 10 percent of value is theoretically available before costs. That ceiling is constitutional and no lender can exceed it.
Why is my Texas number smaller than the calculators I find online?
Because most calculators assume the national rule, which lets a homeowner borrow to a higher combined loan-to-value. Texas measures the new credit plus every other debt secured by the homestead against 80 percent of value, so the usable figure is genuinely smaller here.
Does the calculator tell me if I qualify?
No. It answers one question: how much room the Texas ceiling leaves. Whether you qualify depends on income, debts, reserves and the property itself, which takes a real conversation rather than two inputs.
Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about financing, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax, or real estate advice. Texas homestead lending rules, property tax treatment, and loan limits change and depend on your facts; your real estate agent handles the purchase paperwork and your CPA or a Texas attorney handles legal and tax questions. Loans are subject to borrower and property qualification.