Manjit Gill, Real Estate Consultant

What is a Cash-Out Refinance? You might use a typical term-and-rate refinance to exchange your mortgage for one with lower monthly payments or another benefit. However, a cash-out refinance means you switch out your mortgage for a larger one. Why would anyone want to borrow a bigger mortgage? It’s a way to access the value of your home that you own through a loan instead of selling it. If you have paid off any part of your mortgage, then you have built equity. You cannot use your home’s equity to make purchases in illiquid form, so taking out another loan and using your equity as collateral allows you to use that value as cash.

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Sellers hesitant to list during the pandemic further accelerated CA's inventory woes, bumping up home prices in the process. In September, the CA median home price reached an all-time high of $712,430, a 17.6% jump year-over-year. Read full article: bit.ly/2KTinms

Google search trends for the terms buying a second home reached a five-year high in July, jumping 235% annually. Home sales in vacation destination areas started accelerating in July 2020 and posted a 34% annual gain this past fall, NAR data shows. bit.ly/2KTinms

The housing market ended 2020 with strong sales and a new record high median price

Despite record low interest rates, housing affordability remains a big challenge in California. 37% of first-time buyers moved to another CA county in 2020 because of housing affordability, and 30% of sellers who planned to buy a new home decided to buy in a different state. https://twitter.com/carealtors/status/1340041685972131840

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If your furnace stops working this winter, try these eight simple solutions before you call for service. https://lmsafe.co/1R7p

You may not be able to travel as usual, but that doesn't mean you can't plan a vacation at home. Try these fun activities and enjoy the best "home cation" possible.

Housing affordability declined in Q3 2020 due to higher home prices and a dearth of inventory.

Talking to your lender is just the first step if your credit score was affected in the last 8 months. Read the full article to learn 8 additional ways to fix your credit. https://lmsafe.co/tDz6