HELOC to pay off Mortgage Faster?

[Jason Meyers]

Hey everyone! I have read a post about HELOC's before but couldn't really find an answer to the question. I'm curious if anyone has used a HELOC (home equity line of credit) to pay off their mortgage in larger chunks, reducing the total interest you pay on the mortgage and shortening the time to pay it off. I'm very interested in this strategy and want to implement it this year. Has anyone done this strategy? And if so, where could I find information about how to use a HELOC? I understand the concept but I've heard people have troubles getting it from a bank if they know it is being used to pay off a mortgage. Also, how is interest applied to a HELOC? Is it simple interest or is it compounded? And what is the "normal" time frame for the compounding if it is? Any help would be appreciated! This is a huge goal for me to accomplish in 2017 and I want to waste no time achieving that! Wishing everyone the best of luck in 2017! Jason Meyers

[Chris T.]

Originally posted by @Eric Y.:

@Jason Meyers:  Like Angela above, I'd like to hear whether this is working.  I see lots of discussion around it but never a spreadsheet that shows details for comparison.  Did you ever find one?

When I put it in my own spreadsheets I didn't get much for savings, especially when comparing it to the complexity of moving everything around and the risk of going in to more debt.

 Go through the 11 pages of the last link mentioned above

Use HELOC to paydown mortgage fast

There are spreadsheets used by different people to support their point of view. If you've any questions, I would PM those individuals directly for help. 

Otherwise, we might have another 11 pages of "I'm right and you are wrong" comments.