The plaintiffs’ lawyers would also be paid from the eventual sale or cash-out; they said they would ask for no more than 39 percent of the amount received by the class.

Others have borrowed against their homes to put cash in their pockets, either with a reverse mortgage, home equity loan or cash-out refinance.

Mason and Nicole helped finance the ADU with a cash-out refinance that took six months and through a $40,000 CalHFA ADU grant, a state program administered through the nonprofit HPP Cares and designed to help low- and moderate-income California homeowners build ADUs.

A cash-out mortgage refinance is the process of replacing your existing home mortgage with a new, bigger mortgage, then taking out the difference in cash.

Keep in mind, a cash-out refinance completely replaces your existing mortgage and may change your repayment timeline or monthly payments.