<prompt> Human: Based on some market research it looks like we could probably sell our house for about 100k more than we owe on it. We have about 50k in unsecured debts credit cards mostly. Would it be a good idea to sell our house, pay off our debts, and bank the balance? My thought is that the market will probably go down again in the next 3-5 years. We could rent for that time period, or buy a smaller house a little further from town. Has anyone else done anything like this?UPDATE: Thanks for all of the great advice. I am most interested in looking at refinancing our house and cashing out or getting a HELOC. With that said - does anyone have a recommendation for a good mortgage company to work with? The guy I used to refinance a couple years ago turned out to be more expensive than I had anticipated. UPDATE 2: I spoke w a mortgage person from Quicken Loans. They seem a little pushy but I understand the business. This is what I was offered. 232k mortgage I owe 189k with 43,000 cash out. There would be no fees or closing costs. Interest rate 4.99. A little higher than I expected on the interest but I understand with cashing out it might cost more. The payment would be 1437mo including PI, homeowners insurance and taxes. I currently pay 1265mo to the net would be 172mo more in mortgage payments and 1500mo less in credit card payments. How does this sound?  <response>: Have you considered a HELOC instead? If your home really is worth 100k more, and its perfect for you, you may look into it. Borrow 50k from the equity and pay off the debt. 