The reason to refi a paid-for or nearly-paid property is to 'cash out' and invest the money elsewhere. You can borrow for 30 years at less than 3% - considerably lower than the rate of inflation - so the money is 'free' and can be invested in things that will produce considerable income - and a lot of tax advantages.
Take, for example, a paid-for $250K 'primary residence' home. You can easily borrow $200K out at less than 3% interest (which is tax-deductible) and buy 4 similar $250K rental properties. While the interest isn't tax-deductible on income properties, the properties can be depreciated (ask your tax professional), and there a lot of other tax advantages - in assets that will not only produce income, they generally appreciate.
Ever notice how many wealthy people hold their wealth in Real Estate?
Eli
Excellent post
If I may add one more insight:
Pulling that equity to put cash in your pocket is not a taxable event.
But selling to to put cash in your pocket is a taxable event.
It’s one reason why real estate guys like debt, and don’t pay taxes
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro