For more and more homeowners the coming year could be a great time to cash cash out some home equity by refinancing their home loan. Basically, this means converting part of your home equity into money, adding to your loan’s balance. As rates remain reasonable in the 4 percent range this gives homeowners a chance to pay off higher interest credit card balances or renovating the house.

During the real estate boom years cash-outs were very common, then all but disappeared when the market imploded. With home equity as it’s highest point in years, it may be making a comeback.