Since I am old (63), I built my house for cash. I did take out a small mortgage 2 years ago when I built to pay for pool, landscaping, etc. at 6.50% I just took out $40K last month to pay it off using my house's credit line at 3.75 percent, locked in for 5 years at fixed payments. SO I still owe $40K on my house, but it wil be paid off in 5 years and in the meanwhile, my balance will be at 3.75% interest rate. There is no way I am going to refinance and take out $300K or $400K in equity just to spend it. At some point in my future it may provide income by means of a reverse mortgage.
