US homeowners now have over 5 trillion dollars in home equity which is a very large amount of money! So this year may be the year for a lot of cash out refinances and other home equity mortgage products. Most often, when you are purchasing a home, you are buying at or below the appraised value and you are making a down payment. The good news is this means you have "instant equity" in your home. And over time you build more equity as you make your monthly mortgage payments as well as any … [Read more...]