Figuring net worth??

[contrary1]

Came to a screaching halt when I started to fill in the blanks on my networthIQ page. How in the world do you figure the real estate piece? Purchase price, value according to county tax records??
I decided I needed to get the number for my net worth, so I have something to work towards............but I can't get to square one.

[Ima saver]

The way I figure what my house is worth, is what I would sell it for. I was offered $405,000 several years ago, and prices have gone up. When it comes to bare property, I usually figure what I paid for it.

[baselle]

Real estate has got to be tough, because its so illiquid, and really a piece of property is worth only what a buyer is going to pay for it. But your mortgage is real - its what you've decided you would pay for it, and what you are indebted to the bank for.

[contrary1]

And, what if you own real estate outright? List it as the tax rolls list it, fair market value, price you paid for it? I'm stuck here.

Also, almost the same question re; stock. How do you list it? I presume funds that are in stocks, mutual funds are listed as net worth??

I really need to find somewhere to read about this...........I asked my mom today and she has never known her net worth either. So, now when I get it figured out, she wants to do hers!!! She wins, her number will put mine to shame............but she's been playing longer than I have!! But, it sure was fun finding out something she didn't know!

[goodhome]

Have you tried www.zillow.com? Most of the homes in my family can be found there.

[baselle]

Originally Posted by contrary1

And, what if you own real estate outright? List it as the tax rolls list it, fair market value, price you paid for it? I'm stuck here.

Also, almost the same question re; stock. How do you list it? I presume funds that are in stocks, mutual funds are listed as net worth??

I really need to find somewhere to read about this...........I asked my mom today and she has never known her net worth either. So, now when I get it figured out, she wants to do hers!!! She wins, her number will put mine to shame............but she's been playing longer than I have!! But, it sure was fun finding out something she didn't know!

You got me on the real estate question. I'm guessing that the tax assessment will be somewhere in the middle, and you are going to get a range. Notice that most net worths aren't figured to the penny, its always going to be an estimate.

But I can help you with the stock. Use the stock price as listed in the paper or online times how many shares you have. That's the worth. And yes, it will fluctuate daily. Now to determine your profit, you need to know your cost basis. That's what you paid for it, and you need to take account any splits or dividend reinvestments.

Mutual funds have both a ticker symbol that you can look up in morningstar.com and they also have a net asset value (NAV), which is similar to a stock price. In a national paper, those are listed daily, too.

If you are comparing with your mother, just make sure that you're figuring it with the same assumptions.

[Ima saver]

I do my net worth the end of every month. I just take the stock price for that day (in the paper or now I find it on the computer) and multiply it by the number of shares I have. Then I call (or find on computer) the mutual fund to find out my balance for the day.
I know what I have in banks, cd's etc. I have 2 pieces of property, I value them at what I paid for them. Then, when it comes to my house, I value it at the price I once had it for sale for. althought, I am pretty sure I can get more than that. I don't use the assessed value of the house, that is always much lower.

[Fern]

You should calculate the value of your home based on its fair market value minus outstanding mortgage balance. If you don't know what the approximate fair market value of your home is, use one of the online (free) evalutaions by homegain.com, housevalue.com or zillow.com

Value your mutual funds by your account value as reported on your monthly statement.

[contrary1]

thanks everyone for the tips. I will get through tax week here and then to the net worth calculations for myself and my mom. She is copying me!!! A good thing I think............she has no idea of her net worth. Even with my allergic reaction to lists of numbers......I can tell her net worth is up there. She'd better sit down when we tally hers up. Decades of work & saving pay off!

I've got recent market analysis' (gads, what is the plural of that anyway??) for my pieces of real estate, and we have fairly recent ones for moms holdings so we should be good to go.

[Ima saver]

I have to turn in my net worth every year when we renew our building license, so i keep up with it. The hardest part is figuring out what my house is worth.