Keeping the money in savings was the smart move, plain and simple (pulling cash out of your house to fund someone else's business idea is a whole different level of risk). We did a cash out refi back in 2019 for a similar reason, needed a new HVAC and some plumbing work, and we had about $15k left over. My wife's cousin was pushing us hard to put it into a food truck he was starting up. We parked it in a high yield savings account instead and just let it sit. His truck lasted about a year before the transmission went and he couldn't keep up with the payments. That leftover money ended up covering a layoff we didn't see coming in 2020, which was a lifesaver. Sometimes boring is the best play you can make with borrowed money.

Read an article saying most flippers price low just to move stuff fast.