If you are planning on refinancing your existing mortgage, and need some extra cash, a cash-out refinance could be an option.

A cash-out refinance is like a regular refinance except that the total amount of the loan is greater than your current mortgage balance, and you walk away from the closing table with the difference in the form of a check made out to you, which could be used to pay off high-interest credit card debt, for example, or for anything you like.

The upsides are cash-in-hand and that the interest on the mortgage is tax-deductible, specifically that the cash-out interest portion of the refinance is deductible, in contrast to credit card debt which is not. The downsides are that the cash you take comes directly from your equity, and if your financed amount exceeds 80% of your home's appraised value you'll wind-up paying PMI. Also, home values usually appreciate, but if your home were to lose value, you could find yourself in a situation where you owed more on your home than you could sell it for.