A free series

The Mortgage Payoff Experiment

We test mortgage strategies, run the numbers, and show homeowners what actually works.

What we're testing

Can a home equity line of credit (a HELOC) pay a house off faster than the mortgage you have? The series tests a line that sits in first position, so it replaces your mortgage, or that goes on a home with no mortgage at all. We look at whether it pays the house off sooner, makes your equity easier to reach, or adds flexibility that's worth something.

It doesn't start from the idea that the line is better. Each episode puts it up against the options you already have, keeping the mortgage and paying extra, or refinancing into a new fixed loan, with the same monthly cash in every comparison. We show the math, explain the risks, and say who it fits and who it doesn't.

A household with real money left over every month can pay debt down faster with several different loans. A line may add a little through daily interest and the ability to redraw, but it doesn't create cash flow, and it doesn't make debt disappear.

The cash flow pays off the house. The line of credit is a tool. The numbers decide whether it's a good tool for you.

The ground rules

Ten things every episode comes back to

1. Cash flow is the engine

The money left over each month is what pays down the debt. The loan only decides how much of it goes to interest.

2. A line is still debt secured by your home

It isn't free money or a shortcut around repaying. Fall behind and the house is at risk.

3. Daily interest isn't magic

Any edge depends on when money lands on the line and leaves it, the average balance, the rate and the fees.

4. Compare the same cash

Whatever you can send to the house each month, run that same amount through every option.

5. Compare total cost, not just the rate

Count upfront fees, closing costs, rate changes and how the loan is repaid, not only the rate or the payment.

6. Redraw access has value, and limits

It depends on the agreement, the credit available, the draw period and the lender's rights.

7. A low fixed rate is valuable

Don't give it up casually. For plenty of homeowners the answer is to keep the mortgage they have.

8. A payoff date isn't the whole story

Savings, reserves, how much risk you can live with and what you may need to borrow later all matter too.

9. The product has to match the strategy

A lender's line may not work like the checking-account setup you've heard about. The agreement decides.

10. Every example is an illustration

Rates, fees, eligibility rules and terms change. Check them before you rely on any number, ours included.

Who it might fit

The order matters

The same line can be a good tool for one homeowner and an expensive mistake for the next. Here's how the math tends to sort people.

Best fit

A home with no mortgage

There's no low rate to give up. Nearly 40% of owner-occupied homes have no mortgage at all.

Fits, after seasoning

Cash buyers

The same math as a paid-off home, once any waiting period the lender requires has passed.

Can pencil out

A high-rate mortgage and a strong monthly surplus

The line's rate and fees have to compete with the loan you have, and the margin is thin: a small rate gap or an upfront fee usually flips it.

Keep it

A low fixed rate

Trading a low fixed rate for a line priced well above it costs more. The right answer is the mortgage you already have.

The tools

Run it with your own mortgage

Don't take our numbers for it. Put yours in and see how the options compare.

Mortgage payoff comparison

The same monthly cash through your mortgage, a new fixed loan and a line of credit: payoff time, total cost and the break-even line rate.

Run the comparison

Extra payment

Pick an extra monthly or one-time payment and see how much sooner the mortgage you have is paid off.

Extra payment calculator

Early payoff

Pick the year you want to be done and get the payment it takes, weighed against refinancing into a 15-year.

Early payoff calculator

Episodes

Watch the series

Episode 1 is coming

The first episode runs one household's numbers through the mortgage, a new fixed loan and a line of credit, with the same monthly cash in all three. Episodes will show up here as they're released.

Subscribe on YouTube

Fine print

Every rate, fee, payment and payoff time in this series is an illustration built on stated assumptions, not a rate quote, a loan offer or a commitment to lend.
A line of credit is secured by your home; falling behind can put it at risk. Most lines have variable rates that can rise to the maximum in the agreement.
A lender can stop new draws or lower your limit in some cases, and you can redraw only during the draw period.
The education is free. If you take out a loan I arrange, I can be paid for it, and the loan can carry lender fees and closing costs.

General education, not personalized financial, tax or legal advice. David Lurvey, NMLS 410420. Equal Housing Opportunity.

Want a second set of eyes on your numbers?

Run the comparison with your own mortgage first. If the numbers say a line might fit, book a call and we'll look at it together. If they say keep your mortgage, I'll tell you that too.

Book a call

Sources. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 (published January 29, 2026): 39.4% of owner-occupied homes are owned free and clear.