For years, a boomer-age couple with grown children vowed to remain in their home no matter what. So when the husband developed a serious illness, they decided to retrofit their two-story colonial home rather than move.

But the cost of the renovation they needed, which included installing an elevator, was too steep to cover out of their savings. So they’re planning to refinance their mortgage to cover the expense.

“Mortgage rates are still stubbornly high -- and higher than was expected this spring. But some homeowners simply need to tap their equity now with a cash-out mortgage refi. They can’t wait until rates finally drop down to do the necessary remodeling,” says Keith Gumbinger, a vice president at HSH Associates, which tracks home loan markets across the country.

Stacy Berman, a veteran real estate agent, says it’s not only older owners who are eager to remodel. For example, young couples with small children might seek to access funds for the addition of a playroom or a bigger kitchen.

“Although many people have low-rate mortgages and lots of equity in their property, they may not have the cash or liquid assets to finance the lifestyle improvements they’re seeking now. And rates for a cash-out refi are better than for a home equity line of credit,” Berman says.

“If these owners last refinanced their mortgages to an exceptionally low rate during the pandemic, they’re loathe to give up that rock-bottom loan. But for the short term, at least, they accept that the current rates are the ‘new normal,'” Gumbinger says.

To determine if your remodeling outlays would pay you back when it’s time to sell, Berman suggests you contact a real estate agent familiar with your neighborhood. Ask that agent if you could recover the full cost of your outlays.

“Ideally, you’ll want to keep the property for at least five more years to recoup what you paid for the renovations,” Berman says.

Here are a few pointers for those planning to do a cash-out refinance:

-- Accept the fact that good credit remains critical for lenders.

Ever since the real estate downturn of 2008, lenders have maintained tight standards with little latitude to bend the rules.

“As has been the case for many years, you still have to jump through a lot of hoops to get a mortgage of any kind, including a cash-out refi,” Gumbinger says.

It remains true that prospective borrowers will be asked to explain blemishes on their credit reports, correcting flaws and inaccuracies when possible.

Savvy borrowers closely examine their credit reports before applying for a home loan. Under federal law, each year you’re entitled to one free credit report from the three largest credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Just go to this website: annualcreditreport.com.

You’ll also want to access your credit scores. Such scores, which draw on data from the credit bureaus, provide lenders with a quantitative measure of a person’s credit risk. Most lenders still use FICO scores, pioneered by the Fair Isaac Corp.

Usually, you need to pay a fee to obtain your credit scores. One approach is to buy these through the Fair Isaac website: myfico.com. You can also obtain credit scores through the three large credit bureaus. FICO scores range from 300 to 850.

-- Seek to reduce your credit card repayment load before refinancing.

Does your household have multiple credit cards and more debt than you’d like? If so, remember that big minimum monthly payments on your plastic can limit your capacity to take out as large a mortgage as you’d like when you refinance.

Along with your FICO score, another key qualifier is your “debt-to-income ratio.” If you face high minimum payments each month -- whether on credit cards or car payments -- you might be unable to borrow as much as you need when you refinance.

As Gumbinger says, one way to lower your monthly debt payouts is to move balances from your highest interest-rate credit cards to your lowest rate one. Alternatively, consider moving high credit card debt to an installment loan made through a credit union or a community bank.

“Too high a monthly payout is a problem for many mortgage borrowers,” Gumbinger says.

-- Select a fixed-rate mortgage rather than an adjustable rate one.

One lesson many consumers have learned the hard way is just how perilous adjustable-rate mortgages can be.

Though they often start off with a low “teaser rate,” ARMs can later adjust upward, sometimes to a shockingly high level. That could prove especially problematic for retired boomers living on a fixed income.

“The reality is that if you accept an adjustable-rate mortgage, you’re agreeing to bear the risk of still steeper mortgage rates going forward,” Gumbinger says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)

A couple of 30-year-old New Yorkers were excited to land new jobs in Chicago. So they immediately began stalking their first home in the new city. Soon they found a three-story brick townhouse and willingly offered to pay a $100,000 premium over what the same place would have fetched just last year. That way, they beat out two other bidders.

“The townhouse is walking distance from their jobs. Because it checked all their boxes, it was well worth a premium to this couple. Available homes are scarce in the neighborhood they like, and they didn’t want to miss out,” says Rich Harty, the couple’s buyer broker.

Harty, former president of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (naeba.org), says an increasing number of potential homeowners are making peace with seemingly never-ending home price appreciation.

“Housing is on an escalator. People who want to buy are jumping on if they can afford to. They know the root problem is a serious shortage of inventory that won’t be solved anytime soon,” Harty says.

Of course, there are many wannabe owners who can’t afford to make a purchase as long as mortgage rates remain high. But those who can -- like the Chicago buyers -- see no advantage in delay.

“When, finally, mortgage rates come down, the current crop of buyers just foresee more competition than ever from people who’ve been waiting on the sidelines. That’s why there’s no point in procrastination,” Harty says.

Although financially qualified buyers are pushing ahead to execute purchases, others hoping to buy in a high-cost market are feeling discouraged by the stream of data showing seemingly unstoppable appreciation.

For instance, a new analysis from Zillow, the national real estate company, shows that in a rising number of U.S. communities -- now 550 -- the typical home value has reached $1 million or more. That’s up from 491 communities last year.

“Affordability is still a big challenge for buyers, but that hasn’t stopped prices from growing,” says Anushna Prakash, a data scientist at Zillow.

Here are a few pointers for buyers struggling to make a deal happen:

-- Identify and rule out sellers who are simply testing the market.

Eric Tyson, co-author of “Home Buying for Dummies,” says that in all markets there are sellers who won’t budge from an unrealistically high price because they’re in no rush to move.

How can you tell which sellers are merely testing the market and will never negotiate seriously with anyone who bids less than their lofty list price?

Tyson recommends you ask your agent to find out if previous offers have come in on the property you want. If the owners have already rebuffed one or more fair offers, this indicates they’ll probably resist reason with you, too.

The good news for buyers is that information on past offers is often readily available through the listing agent.

While there’s no harm in trying to reason with market testers, Tyson says you can waste a lot of time and energy trying to budge people who won’t entertain a fair offer.

“Finding the really serious home seller is the key to getting a decent price,” Tyson says.

-- Research the equity position of the sellers of any property you like.

Alexander says its critical for buyers to gather as much information on sellers as is readily available before bidding on any home.

“What you’re looking for are insights into the mindset of the sellers,” Alexander says.

One source of clues on the owners’ equity position can be found by searching local government land records. These records (usually available online) should tell you when the current owners purchased the place and the original price they paid.

“If the sellers bought the house a couple of decades ago and haven’t refinanced, they should have a lot more equity than if they bought it in a strong market just a few years ago,” Alexander says.

-- Request that your buyer’s agent query the listing agent.

When owners have an urgent need to sell, it’s normally against their interest for that information to be broadcast to the world, which could weaken their bargaining position. Even so, Alexander says many listing agents will readily disclose such client information in response to questions.

“You’d be amazed how much listing agents will divulge to a buyer’s agent. For example, they might blab about how the seller must move due to divorce or a job transfer,” she says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)

A civil engineer of 38 bought his first single-family house six years ago. Located in a pricey suburban enclave, the bungalow represented a major stretch for the man, leaving him no extra funds for upgrades. Now that he’s richer, he plans to sell the house and trade up to a much larger place. But he wonders what presale upgrades would make sense.

“I made out like a bandit on equity increases during the pandemic, when my house shot up in value. That, along with a salary increase, let me dream of a new 3,000-square-foot house I intend to buy in my same neighborhood. But to clinch that trade, I really need to net strong proceeds from my current house,” the engineer says.

Recently, the man began roaming the internet in search of pointers on upgrades that could help his bottom line when he sells. He was especially intrigued by a research report on the topic from Zillow, the national real estate company.

“When certain home features or design styles are highlighted in a listing description, they serve as a signal to a buyer that a home is appealing and up-to-date. As a result, those features can help a home sell faster and for more money,” says Amanda Pendleton, a Zillow home trends specialist.

What’s more, the failure of sellers to address certain outdated features can penalize them at the closing table. Also, Pendleton notes that certain upgrades may pay owners back in some neighborhoods but not others.

To illustrate her point, she mentions the popular trend toward “tricked-out” backyards with such features as an outdoor shower, a pizza oven and a bluestone patio. While some upscale communities can support such expensive improvements, others cannot.

"While many people spend too little to make their homes salable, others spend too much on the wrong improvements,” says Sid Davis, author of “A Survival Guide for Selling a Home.”

How can you determine which upgrades will pay you back with a successful sale and which will simply waste your money? Davis says it’s wise to assess the competition prior to pouring any money into improvements.

“Go around and visit all the other For Sale houses in your immediate area as if you were a buyer. Create a checklist for the pros and cons of each home. Then make sure your home meets the neighborhood’s standards -- though without going way over the top,” Davis says.

Though expanding a home to add more square footage is an expensive upgrade that’s rarely justifiable -- except in elite neighborhoods -- some much less costly improvements could pay you back multiple times over.

Here are a few pointers for sellers:

-- Never shortchange yourself on fresh paint.

Experienced real estate agents are nearly universal in their appreciation of a newly repainted home. Painting is one of the most cost-effective improvements sellers can do.

But Davis considers it a mistake to repaint in what he calls “commitment colors.” For instance, he tells of one seller who repainted his light gray walls in bright school-bus yellow.

Davis has no financial interest in Pottery Barn, a home furnishings retailer. But he suggests that would-be sellers examine the color palette shown in the company’s catalog -- tones he believes reflect current buyer tastes.

-- Restrain yourself on kitchen improvements.

For sellers, the road to overspending is paved with good intentions, Davis says. He believes they’re especially likely to veer off course on kitchen improvements.

For instance, he says most sellers don’t need to tear out and replace their worn kitchen cabinets -- only the cabinet doors. Or, if that’s not a feasible solution, they can freshen their kitchen’s look by sanding and repainting their cabinets in a high-gloss white.

-- Change out the lighting in your bathrooms.

The multiple-bulb Hollywood-style lighting that many people still use in their bathrooms doesn’t appeal to most contemporary buyers, who want a fresher, less retro look.

Look for lighting fixtures that are more contemporary. In many cases, you can upgrade your fixtures for under $200 per bathroom.

-- Replace tired-looking carpeting.

Many sellers would rather offer buyers a “carpeting allowance” than replace worn, stained or outdated-looking carpet.

But real estate agents typically reject the idea of using a carpeting allowance, which they say undermines the sellers’ prospects for a successful sale. That’s because few buyers can envision how much better a home will look when its bad carpeting is replaced.

Can’t afford new carpeting for the whole house? Then focus on the most visible areas.

“Put your carpet dollars into the first floor where they’ll be most appreciated,” Davis says.

-- Take away any foliage that conceals your house.

Many longtime homeowners are very fond of the trees that grow in their front lawn. Even if their trees now dwarf their property -- or have grown perilously close to the house -- they’ll resist cutting them down.

“Lots of people are emotionally attached to their trees. There are many reasons for this. A tree may have been planted on a wedding anniversary, at the birth of a child or in memory of someone who died,” Davis says.

But given that curb appeal is paramount, he urges sellers to spend as much as necessary to remove any tree that hides their property. Otherwise, he says many buyers will summarily reject their property based solely on how it looks from the street.

“If you can’t see a house, you’ll never buy it,” he says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)