There are many reasons why a borrower might need to pull cash out when refinancing their mortgage loan. Home improvements are one of the main reasons. This often adds value to the home, if done properly.
Refinancing with Cash Out is an option but if you are borrowing more than 70% of your home's value, you can expect a little bit higher of an interest rate than if you weren't refinancing with cash out.
Cash out from a mortgage refinance is tax-free since it's not income, but rather it's loan proceeds.
Many people take cash out of their home equity to consolidate high interest rate credit card debt. Credit cards often have interest rates of over 20% and none of this interest is tax deductible. Interest paid on the mortgage of your primary residence is tax deductible so the over all savings is often from more than just a lower, stable interest rate.
The great majority of refinances are cash out refinances to consolidate debt. Many borrowers find that a debt consolidation refinance can actually save them several hundred dollars a month in total payments. For those people with little extra money to spare every month, this can bring a great deal of relief.
Many people find it helpful to cash out of their home in order to finance a new business venture or to make home improvements. There are now no pmi programs for those who would like to borrow more than 80% of their homes value.
Getting cash out often means accepting a lower loan to value ratio, or LTV, when you refinance. This means that generally you are able to borrow less in total when you are completing a cash out refinance than you would if you took no cash out.