> 3. Real estate can be borrowed against. Try that with stocks.
if you're using a taxable margin account(1), your broker will almost certainly be happy to let you borrow some fraction of your stock's value as cash, without any paperwork. depending on the value of your account and the amount being borrowed, the rates might even be decent, compared to a HELOC. (after all, their risk is a lot lower, as they can liquidate your stocks on a moment's notice. much easier than foreclosing on a house. and while you're in debt to them, they can loan your stocks out to other people, which is valuable to them.)
(1): holy crap don't sign up for a margin account without fully understanding what you're doing.
if you're using a taxable margin account(1), your broker will almost certainly be happy to let you borrow some fraction of your stock's value as cash, without any paperwork. depending on the value of your account and the amount being borrowed, the rates might even be decent, compared to a HELOC. (after all, their risk is a lot lower, as they can liquidate your stocks on a moment's notice. much easier than foreclosing on a house. and while you're in debt to them, they can loan your stocks out to other people, which is valuable to them.)
(1): holy crap don't sign up for a margin account without fully understanding what you're doing.