graphic

graphic

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE
Unlock the value of your house
All you need to know on cash-out refis, tapping home equity and reverse mortgages.
June 16, 2004: 9:44 AM EDT
By Cybele Weisser, MONEY Magazine

NEW YORK (MONEY Magazine) - Last year thousands of Americans discovered a pot of gold in their own living rooms.

Or so it must have seemed: Spurred by historically low interest rates and sky-high housing prices, homeowners took out $223 billion in new loans backed by the equity in their homes in 2003.

It's crucial to remember how easily this tool can be misused. Fortunately, if you borrow wisely, you can enjoy the extra cash without excess risk.

With that in mind, what follows is everything you must know to understand the various methods of extracting equity from your home and to sort out which, if any, is right for you.

Continued...  Top of page


--*Disclaimer
  More on REAL ESTATE
•Banks paying delinquent borrowers to sell their homes
•Mortgage deal means more foreclosures
•What the foreclosure settlement means for you
  TODAY'S TOP STORIES
•BILLIONAIRES TO THE RESCUE
•Stocks close out week with modest declines
•Greek Cabinet approves austerity plan




graphic
Market indexes are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer LIBOR Warning: Neither BBA Enterprises Limited, nor the BBA LIBOR Contributor Banks, nor Reuters, can be held liable for any irregularity or inaccuracy of BBA LIBOR. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2012 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer The Dow Jones IndexesSM are proprietary to and distributed by Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and have been licensed for use. All content of the Dow Jones IndexesSM © 2012 is proprietary to Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Chicago Mercantile Association. The market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2012. All rights reserved. Most stock quote data provided by BATS.
© 2012 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Privacy Policy. Ad choices .
Market indexes are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer LIBOR Warning: Neither BBA Enterprises Limited, nor the BBA LIBOR Contributor Banks, nor Reuters, can be held liable for any irregularity or inaccuracy of BBA LIBOR. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2012 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer The Dow Jones IndexesSM are proprietary to and distributed by Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and have been licensed for use. All content of the Dow Jones IndexesSM © 2012 is proprietary to Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Chicago Mercantile Association. The market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2012. All rights reserved. Most stock quote data provided by BATS.
© 2012 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Privacy Policy. Ad choices .