When house prices were rising by 10 percent or more a year, millions of borrowers got cash-out refinances. They refinanced for more than they owed, got cash, and spent or invested it.
The cash-out refi craze ended when the housing bust began. But there are still a few cash-out refis.
"We're still in the business of cashing out people -- paying off credit cards, for example," says Michael Moskowitz, president of Equity Now.
Michael Becker, mortgage banker at Happy Mortgage in Lutherville, Md., says: "It's not like it was years ago, when people took cash out to buy things, like a pool, a car or an RV. It seems more to be paying down debt, lowering their debt service, trying to save money."