How to Bank On Your Home

摘要

How big a risk do you take—should you take—when you borrow against your home? With prices in most places bounding up, homeowners find themselves sitting on a fat pile of capital (your "home equity"—the cash you'd put in your pocket if you sold the house and paid off the mortgage). That makes a house more than a mere living space. It's a piggy bank, storing up money for your later age. Or an investment bank, able to finance the purchase of other assets. Or an ATM, spitting out cash for anything you want to buy. What's your best strategy today?