Once you have a mortgage, you're not locked into it until your home is completely paid off. You always have the option of refinancing the loan, and in some cases, it might be in your best interests because of the perks involved. But what about taking the value you’ve put into your home, and leveraging it to obtain cash-out financing? Our inboxes, and the internet, are both inundated with home equity loan offers which provides nearly guaranteed financing based off your home. It moves into second position on your deed, and could actually be used to pay off your first mortgage, too. Credit restrictions do apply, but you’ve already established plenty of plausible collateral by improving your property.