Home mortgages become complex form of rent as homeowners gain no equity

• Bali Singh is only 36 years old, but she's fast becoming a relic in lending terms.
• Singh and her husband, Paul, intend to pay off their 15-year mortgage in 13 years - well before retirement.
• They've resisted the temptation to tap home equity to enhance their lifestyle or to expand their dry cleaning business.
• Americans, who once viewed home equity as an untouchable strongbox, are increasingly using it as an ATM.
• In three refinancing waves since 1993, many American homeowners lengthened the number of years they'll be paying on their mortgages and piled on billions in extra debt by cashing out equity or taking out equity loans and lines of credit.
• According to mortgage giant Freddie Mac, U.S. households cashed out an estimated $480 billion in home equity during the refinancing boom that started in 2001, peaked in 2003 and tapered off last year.
• "It used to be people thought of (their home) as their nest egg that was only for life-changing events, such as medical emergencies or divorce," said Javier Silva, a senior researcher at Demos, a nonpartisan, New York think tank focused on the economic security of families.
• Forty-five percent of homeowners who refinanced between early 2001 and the first half of 2002 pulled cash out, and 74 percent wound up with more years on their mortgage - six more years, on average - according to the most recent Federal Reserve household survey.
• I'm just going to be happy living in the house, and when the time comes I'll have to consider other (financing) options."
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