SWEAT EQUITY

Today's word: SWEAT EQUITY
Theme for this fortnight: REAL ESTATE

 

Contribution to a project or enterprise in the form of effort and toil. Sweat equity is the ownership interest, or increase in value, that is created as a direct result of hard work by the owner(s). It is the preferred mode of building equity for cash-strapped entrepreneurs in their start-up ventures, since they may be unable to contribute much financial capital to their enterprise. In the context of real estate, sweat equity refers to value-enhancing improvements made by homeowners themselves to their properties. The term is probably derived from the fact that such equity is considered to be generated from the "sweat of one's brow."