Slow but steady rise in housing prices creates room for homeowners to access home equity loans for improvements, property investment or purchase of large sticker consumer durables.
Debt consolidation - when interest rates are at near-record lows - may be a key aspect of your retirement planning; converting "dumb" debt on high rate credit cards and department store cards into "smart" debt before retirement.
As borrowing costs seem poised to rise further, consulting a mortgage broker to find the best terms in converting a variable-rate to a five year fixed-term mortgage is likely to provide savings and peace of mind.
