Beyond Stability: Why Your Financial Health Matters

Financial health is all about having your finances in good shape, and it's especially important for homeowners. It’s not just about paying the bills—it’s about managing your income, expenses, savings, and debt in a way that keeps you on solid ground.

Things like your credit score and debt-to-income ratio are key indicators of your financial well-being. A good credit score can open doors to other financial opportunities, and keeping your debt manageable means less stress and more room for future plans, like home upgrades or handling unexpected expenses. By staying on top of these things, you can make decisions that protect and grow your investment in your home and help you with goals like:

• Creating a safety net for handling unexpected expenses: You never know when an emergency may happen. Understanding your finances and properly managing your money can ensure you always have a savings cushion, and help you expertly navigate tough financial situations.
• Giving you the ability to achieve personal goals: Knowing where your financial health stands and maintaining it can help put you on the path towards achieving goals beyond just the necessary ones.
• Improving your quality of life: Financial security is one of the many factors that contributes to quality of life. Monitoring your financial wellness can help you make sure that you’re taking the right steps towards improving your overall quality of life — not just the financial aspect.
• Reducing stress: 71% of Americans identify money as a significant cause of stress in their lives, and trouble managing money (as opposed to the amount of income you make) is often the root of the issue. The better you understand how to manage your money, track it, save it, and even talk about it with your loved ones, the greater your ability to reduce stress.
• Leaving a legacy: You might already have plans for your future and the legacy you plan to leave behind. While there are various strategies involved in leaving that legacy, valuing your financial health early on is a key step in making sure you can reach that goal when the time comes.
• Making an impact: Have you ever noticed how many financial influencers and thought leaders emphasize how one of the cornerstones of financial freedom is the ability to give back to the organizations and efforts that matter to you? There’s a reason the Dave Ramseys of the world preach about the importance of philanthropy, and it goes far beyond making yourself feel good (though that’s certainly an important component). It sets progress in motion that extends far beyond your own financial wealth.

Your financial health is also a key factor in setting you up for success when it comes to settling your Hometap home equity investment. It’s for all of these reasons that we provide you with resources to help manage your personal finances and homeownership costs.

Feel Confident About Settling Your Investment

When the time comes to settle your Hometap Investment, we want you to have confidence in your plans. That includes knowing all of your settlement options, how each can impact you, and your role at each stage of the process.

Learn more about each settlement option by reading our series of “How to Settle” blogs, which you can find below.

• Settling your Investment with a home sale
• Settling your Investment with savings
• Settling your Investment with a home equity loan or (HELOC)
• Settling your Investment with a refinance

We also understand that plans change. If you choose to settle your Investment earlier than planned or your personal circumstances change, we’re here to help.

Keep Tabs on Your Share — And Ours

It’s important that you make the decision to settle your Hometap Investment at the best time for you. One of the best ways to do this is to check in periodically to see your share — how much you’ll receive when you settle — and the Hometap Share, the amount we’ll receive when you settle.

You can easily view these amounts at any time by logging into your account and using the Settlement Calculator.

Achieve Your Financial Goals

We want to help you achieve the goals you set when you first started working with us. That’s why we provide money management resources, so you’re set up for long-term financial success and continuing to work toward your goals.

Build Good Financial Habits

Receiving your funds may not solve all of your financial challenges instantly, and it’s important to maintain your financial health and well-being through smart practices.

Consider this scenario — a homeowner pays off their credit card debt with the funds from their Investment, and their credit score increases. Now that they’re debt free, they decide to open another credit card after some time and eventually qualify for a car loan. Before they realize it, debts have started to creep back in. 

To prevent situations like this from occurring, we want to highlight the importance of building strong credit habits and increasing your financial awareness. That learning starts with finance basics and easily accessible resources. We have plenty of content and tools available to help you jumpstart — and maintain — great financial habits.

The Resources You Need

Where can you find these resources? There are four places you can begin.

1. Emails - Our emails feature homeowner tips, tutorials, surveys, and more. You can expect to hear from us often (but not too often!), so make sure to check your inbox regularly.
2. Hometap.com - You can find a wide range of articles on our website, under the Learn tab on our homepage. The Manage your Investment category is where you’ll find topics on improving your financial health and settling your Investment.
3. Your Hometap Account - You can use your account to find helpful resources too. After logging in and accessing your Home Equity Dashboard, navigate to the Resources section for content on managing money and maintaining your home.
4. Investment Support - Can’t find what you’re looking for? We’re continually expanding our resources and value your input, so stay tuned. Our Investment Support team is here to answer any questions you have: email us at homeowners@hometap.com.

At Hometap, we value your financial health — and we hope you value it, too! Our mission is to make homeownership less stressful and more accessible, and that includes providing homeowners like you with the resources they need to manage their personal finances and homeownership costs. Even after you’ve received the funds from your Investment, we’re here to help you become as financially savvy as possible.