I have to disagree with you for the most part. It seems you have "old school" thinking. (no offense intended - let me explain)
First off, I did not mean to sound irresponsible. I urge anyone to be cautious with credit. It's like a drug for the working class, and it's very easy to come by. Banks will fall all over themselves to give you a loan these days - to the point that prudence is YOURS to exercise, not theirs. Additionally, it is NOT hard to get an equity extension. It's much harder to get the line, in the first place. Extensions are almost "dive-thru" processes, these days.
Case in point - after having been in business for less than 10 months, and with no income, my bank took it upon themselves to raise my home equity. They asked me to come in and sign the papers. I did, and was grateful, because we had a $25K limit, and they raised it to $50K. Normally, I would say be careful. But it worked out good for me, because it helped to fund a venture that started making money right away. (and I'm doing well)
So, where I accused you of being "old school", is on this point:
bvanhiel said:
You NEVER want to go to the bank to borrow when you NEED money. That makes you a bad risk in their eyes, and most banks won't take it.
If you haven't had a need to go to the bank in awhile, I applaud you for it. However, on this point, you may be the one out of touch. I doubt that my experiences are regional. But it may have to do with other things.
Right now, I have considerable leverage on my home, because I bought it at $100K, and less than a year later, it went to $200K. This happened recently all over the country. When you figure that into the equation, and look at the boom in the rental market right now, it's not hard to see why a bank may compete for your debt, and not think twice about raising home equity - especially if you bought before the "boom".
On points 1 and 2, you are right - one must ponder these carefully before taking the plunge.
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