• Client Info
  • Realtor Info
  • Seller Login
  • Contact

Boulder Property Network

Boulder Property Network

Boulder County Real Estate

  • Home
  • Search Real Estate Listings
  • Duane’s Timely Topics
  • Results Count
    • Why We Work by Referral
    • Testimonials
  • Our Team
    • Timmy Duggan
    • Barb Passalacqua
    • Kelsey Jensen
    • Duane Duggan
  • Real Estate Blog
You are here: Home / Boulder Real Estate Blog / Using a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) to Increase Equity in Your Home Faster

Using a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) to Increase Equity in Your Home Faster

April 27, 2018 by The Boulder Property Network

As real estate markets and financing markets change, there are opportunities to consider in order to build real estate equity in your home. One of those is the Home Equity Line of Credit commonly known as HELOC. During the recession, many banks called in their HELOCs. As the real estate market has improved, the HELOC is emerging as a useful financial planning tool.

Using a HELOC to build equity in your home isn’t for everybody. It takes discipline, structure, and a determined goal. In this case, let’s say your goal is to get your home paid off as soon as possible.

Let’s start with the question, “What is a HELOC?” A HELOC is a simple interest, open-ended line of credit secured by your home. You only pay interest on the balance remaining at the end of each day. Each time you pay the principal down, the interest and payment due is calculated on the remaining balance. In other words, the payment goes down each time you make a principal reduction payment. The unique part, is that if you need the money that you paid down back for an emergency, you can get it back.

Terms of HELOCS vary from year to year and from bank to bank. In general, the HELOC you are shopping for should be a first position loan and open ended so money can flow in and out. Usually, HELOCs are variable rate loans and keyed to an index such as the prime rate. The length of term can vary, but 10 years works very well.

On a typical 30-year mortgage, if you make extra principal payments, your next month’s mortgage payment won’t change. However, the length of the mortgage is shortened every time you make that extra principle payment. You can create your own amortization schedule and pay the extra amount to get your loan paid off by your goal.  If you don’t make any extra payments, the loan payoff schedule for a 30-year, 6% loan would look like the graph below:

I like to use the 6% graph as it keeps the math easier for understanding the overall concept. As you study the graph above, you see that very little principal is paid in the early life of the loan. The principal reduction really starts to kick in at about year 14. This is what you really need to consider if you are thinking of refinancing an old loan. Your payment might go lower, but you are likely tacking years of loan payments onto the end of the loan.

For the purpose of this example, let’s compare the idea of using a HELOC instead of the conventional first mortgage. In the interest of simplicity in the example, we will use 6% for the interest rate. The idea consists of you using your HELOC as your checking account. Let’s say you have $5,000 a month in income and your expenses are $4,000. The $1,000 difference is applied to the HELOC each month or $12,000 a year. Interest on the $100,000 and 6% for the year is $6,000. It will actually be a little less, since the balance goes down each month. That leaves $6,000 to go toward principal reduction. Compare that to the graph above where the principal is reduced by $1,228. This only works, of course, if your income exceeds expenses on a monthly basis.

If your goal is to get your home mortgage paid off, a HELOC is a great way to do it. However, it is not without some risk. The risk HELOCs pose is variable interest rates keyed to an index. Because of the rapid principal reduction in this plan, rates going up a little won’t matter much. The other risk is if the banks start calling in lines of credit like they did in the last recession. Again, this plan isn’t for everyone, but for the right situation and with proper advice from the bank and any other financial advisors, it can be an advantageous tool for building your equity.

_________________________

About Duane Duggan: Duane Duggan has been a Realtor® for RE/MAX of Boulder in Colorado since 1982 and has facilitated over 2,500 transactions over his career, the vast majority from repeat and referred clients. He has been awarded two of the highest honors bestowed by RE/MAX International: the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Circle of Legends Award. Living the life of a Realtor and being immersed in real estate led to the inception of his book, REALTOR® for Life. Also see his video podcasts about real estate topics on RE/MAX of Boulder’s YouTube channel.

For questions, email Duane at DuaneDuggan@BoulderCo.com or call 303-441-5611

Filed Under: Boulder Real Estate Blog, Duane's Timely Topics, Real Estate Investment Information Tagged With: HELOC

Contact Us

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Blog Archives

Featured Listings

$199,700Just Listed1199 Brainard Lake RdWard, CO 80481View Listing
$1,150,000Just Listed!562 Wild Horse CirBoulder, CO 80304View Listing
$523,700For Sale!1170 Monroe Drive Unit CBoulder, CO 80303View Listing
$499,000For Sale!1400 Lee Hill Rd Unit 7Boulder, CO 80304View Listing
$1,498,000Price Improvement!6028 Flagstaff RdBoulder, CO 80302View Listing
$199,700For Sale!1199 Brainard Lake Ward, CO 80481View Listing
Lot 12: $173,000 / Lot 13: $174,700For Sale!0 5th St (Lot 12 & 13)Nederland, CO 80466View Listing

See all of our listings.

Recently Sold Properties

389,700Sold3365 Chisholm Trl B101Boulder, CO 80301View Listing
$2,997,000Sold3080 Galena WayBoulder, CO 80305View Listing
$649,700 Sold271 Jefferson AveLouisville, CO 80027View Listing
$628,700Sold170 Golden Gate Canyon RdBlack Hawk, CO 80422View Listing
$655,000Sold2323 Buttercup CtSuperior, CO 80027View Listing
$595,000Sold1513 Sepia AveLongmont, CO 80501View Listing
$873,000Sold5455 Lee Hill DrBoulder, CO 80302View Listing
$451,000Sold311 Windance RdEstes Park, CO 80517View Listing
$235,000 / 280,000Sold765 Pine St & 797 Pine StNederland, CO 80466View Listing
$770,000Sold705 Club Pl.Louisville, CO 80027View Listing

Tweets by BoulderPropNet

Download our App

Boulder Property Network AppGet the Boulder Property Network mobile app to start your search for a new home right from your phone or other mobile device!

Download it here >>

Neighborhood News Report

How's the market? We can provide you with accurate information on the real estate market activity (Listings , Sales & more) in the area you are most interested in!

Get your Neighborhood News here >

Free Home Valuation

Free Market ReportBoulder Property Network can provide you with the information that you need to make a plan for your real estate purchase or sale.

Get your home valuation >>

Looking to Sell?

Looking to Buy?

Information for Investors

Recommended Reading for REALTORS®

REALTOR® for Life

by Duane Duggan

realtor-for-lifeWhat does it take to be a REALTOR® for life? This book provides first hand knowledge from one of the most distinguished and active careers in real estate. Duane Discusses his newly published book here.

Purchase on Amazon

© 2023 Boulder Property Network • RE/MAX of Boulder Inc.
2425 Canyon Blvd. #110, Boulder, CO 80302
800-825-7000 x611

Boulder Property Network on FacebookBoulder Property Network on TwitterDuane Duggan on LinkedinOur listings on YouTubeDownload our Listings App
Site Map