Cash-Out Refinance | Adam Terasinski

Cash-Out Refinance

Turn a portion of your home equity into cash while replacing your existing mortgage with a new one.

What a Cash-Out Refinance Does

A cash-out refinance replaces your current mortgage with a new one for a higher amount, and you receive the difference in cash at closing (after paying off your existing loan and closing costs).

It’s a way to put your home equity to work — for projects, strategic debt consolidation, or strengthening your overall financial position — while keeping everything in a single mortgage instead of juggling multiple loans or lines of credit.

Common Reasons Homeowners Use Cash-Out

  • Funding home improvements or additions that can improve comfort or long-term value
  • Consolidating higher-interest debts into one payment (when the math actually checks out)
  • Building a stronger emergency fund or cash reserve
  • Restructuring multiple mortgages or liens into a primary loan with one payment
Strategy over impulse Tapping equity can be powerful or reckless. I’ll stress-test the plan: total cost of debt before vs. after, how your monthly obligations change, and whether this move actually puts you in a better long-term position.

Key Advantages

  • Access to potentially large amounts of cash tied up in your home equity
  • One consolidated mortgage payment instead of scattered debts and interest rates
  • Option to move into a different loan type or term at the same time (for example, to a fixed-rate)
  • Potentially lower blended interest cost if you’re paying off very high-rate consumer debt

Risks and Tradeoffs to Weigh

  • Your mortgage balance increases, and your monthly payment may go up
  • You’re shifting unsecured or shorter-term debt into a loan secured by your home
  • Extending the term can lower the payment but may increase total interest over time
  • Program limits, pricing adjustments, and guidelines for cash-out can differ from standard refinances
Request a Cash-Out Equity Review
I’ll break down how much equity is realistically accessible, what the new payment looks like, and whether the tradeoff between cash today and long-term cost makes sense for your actual goals.
How much cash can I take out?

It depends on your home’s value, your current loan balance, loan type, and program-specific loan-to-value limits. We’ll start by estimating value, checking guidelines, and then running a max-cash and “comfortable-cash” scenario so you can pick based on strategy, not just a number.

Will my payment definitely go up?

Not always, but it’s common when you increase the loan amount. Your new payment depends on the new rate, term, and balance. Sometimes consolidating high-interest debt still lowers your total monthly obligation even if the mortgage payment itself rises. The math matters more than assumptions here.

Is cash-out always better than a HELOC or second mortgage?

No. Sometimes a HELOC, home equity loan, or second mortgage is cleaner if you only need a smaller amount or want flexibility. Other times, a full cash-out refi is more efficient. I’ll lay out the pros and cons of each path for your situation so you’re not guessing.

*Cash-out refinances are subject to full underwriting review of credit, income, assets, property value, loan-to-value limits, and program guidelines. Increasing your mortgage balance and changing your term can raise total interest costs over time. This information is educational in nature and is not a commitment to lend or an offer of credit.*