That's exactly right. I've refinanced a couple of times myself, and the appraisal process can be surprisingly counterintuitive. A few years back, I co...

I can relate to this. When refinancing last year, I thought upgrading my deck would be straightforward until the tax implications surfaced. Turns out,...

Went through something similar when we moved into our current place. The previous owners left behind an older fridge—built solid, ran fine—but our ele...

Banks can be flexible sometimes, sure, but I wouldn't count on them being overly generous. When I refinanced a few years back, my lender was initially...