Why take out so much cash out of the house? there are many short sale/foreclosed houses that were bought 20 years ago. I have no sympathy for them. They probably bought vacations, expensive cars, boats. I have a coworker that made around $60,000 but refinanced in 2006 to by a 20′ fishing boat and a big Ford truck to pull it. All together it cost him around $60k for a boat that he uses two times a year. Docking for the boat is $200 a month.