We There are four ways to turn your home equity into usable cash:

1. Reverse Mortgage

All reverse mortgages—whether the government-insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage or a conventional product—share a set of common characteristics, which include the following:

• You must be at least 62 years old and own a home. (Note: There are some conventional reverse mortgages that have differing age requirements.)

• You ALWAYS retain title (ownership) to the home. The lender never, at any point, owns the home, even after you (or last surviving spouse) permanently vacate the property.

• You must still pay property taxes and insurance, and keep the home well maintained. If you are unable to pay your property taxes and insurance, then a special set-aside from your reverse mortgage can be created.

• Repayment of the loan occurs when you (or last surviving spouse) permanently vacate the home. You or your heirs (estate) then must facilitate the pay back of the loan using either private funds or selling the home. After the loan is repaid, all leftover proceeds from the sale of the home go to you or the estate.

• The amount of funds you are eligible to receive depends on your age (or age of the youngest borrower in the case of couples), the value of the home, the interest rate and the upfront costs. With the HECM product, the county lending limit is a factor. With all products, the older you are, the more proceeds you are eligible to receive.

• Loan fees can be financed, or paid out of the available loan proceeds. This means you incur very little out-of-pocket expense to get a reverse mortgage. In most cases, you only have to pay for the appraisal, which costs roughly $350 depending on your market.

• The loan balance (amount owed) grows each time you access funds from your line of credit or receive a monthly payment. In addition, the lender is charging you interest on the outstanding loan balance as well as a monthly servicing fee.

• Repayment of the loan is not required until you (or the last surviving spouse) permanently leave the home as a primary residence. For the HECM program, you can live up to 12 consecutive months outside the home, but this may vary for other products.

All reverse mortgages have a "non-recourse" feature, which means that the total amount owed can never exceed the appraised value of the home. If the amount owed exceeds the home's appraised value, then the lender or the federal government (in the case of the HECM product) will absorb that loss.

2. Cash-Out Refinance

When you take a "cash-out refinance," it means you're refinancing your existing loan to a larger amount than what you owe and taking the difference in cash. You receive your money in a lump sum and you might use the cash for home improvements or debt consolidation. If the mortgage interest rate on your existing home loan is higher than current rates, it may make sense to refinance this way.

3. Home Equity Loan

If you have a great mortgage interest rate and don't want to refinance your existing mortgage, a home equity loan might be the way to go. A home equity loan is a second loan that you take out in addition to your first mortgage . It allows you to get cash from your home's equity.

A home equity loan takes less time than refinancing your first mortgage and is a good choice if you'd like your cash in a lump sum. Again, you might use this for home improvements or paying off high-interest credit card debt. You might also use it to pay medical bills or finance a second home.

4. Home Equity Line of Credit

A home equity line of credit (HELOC) is different from the first two options. It works similar to a checking account or credit card except that it uses the equity in your home as the revolving line of credit.

You pay only if and when you use the money. But, unlike credit cards, the interest is usually tax-deductible.*

With a home equity line of credit, you have the choice of getting a lump sum at closing  or only part of your money and drawing on the rest when you need it.

Unlike a home equity loan or a refinance, you can get a home equity line of credit in as little as ten days.

A home equity line of credit can be a good choice if you need to access your money more than once, like when you're renovating your house and need to pay different contractors at separate times.