Go Mortgage Free: mortgage payoff coaching for homeowners

You make good money, you own a home and you pay extra when you can. And somehow you still feel stuck, with the bank holding you to 30 years.

Where your 30-year mortgage payment goes

Take a $320,000 mortgage at 6.5%. You send the bank $2,023 every month, and in the first year $20,695 of it is interest. Only $3,577 touches what you owe.

I know the feeling, because I lived it. You pay extra, the payment never drops, and every extra dollar is locked inside the house. House rich and cash poor. You are not bad with money. Nobody ever showed you how a mortgage is built.

Interest paid over the 30 years: $408,142
Share of year one that is interest: 85%

InterestPrincipal

Year 1Year 30

The HELOC method in three steps

There is a way out, and it uses the home you already own. A home equity line of credit, or HELOC, in first position replaces your mortgage outright, and it comes with a checkbook.

1. Move your savings onto the line
Your savings start lowering the balance on day one, and you can still reach them. In one example I teach, $9,000 of savings becomes $79,000 of access.
2. Deposit your whole paycheck
Your income lowers the balance the day it lands, and interest is only counted on each day's balance.
3. Pay your bills once a month
Put everyday spending on a credit card and clear it in full. Your income sits on the balance most of the month, and the balance trends down like a seesaw.

A mortgage and a HELOC, side by side

The debt is the same size on day one. What changes is how interest is counted and who can reach your money: the bank, or you.

What differs30-year mortgageFirst-lien HELOC

Interest30-year mortgageSet by a 30-year schedule, most of it in the early yearsFirst-lien HELOCCharged on each day's balance

Money you pay in30-year mortgageLocked in the house until you sell or borrow againFirst-lien HELOCCan be drawn back out when you need it

Monthly payment30-year mortgageA fixed amount of principal and interestFirst-lien HELOCInterest at the least, as much more as you like

If you lose your job30-year mortgageThe equity stays out of reach and the payment is still dueFirst-lien HELOCWhat you paid in is there to draw on

Interest rate30-year mortgageUsually fixed for the whole termFirst-lien HELOCVariable, moving with the prime rate

Time to pay off30-year mortgageThe 25 to 30 years on the scheduleFirst-lien HELOC5 to 8 years for my clients

One limit, and I say it on every call: this works for people who are disciplined with money and have some left over every month. If you cannot afford your mortgage today, a line of credit will not fix that.

An 8% HELOC against a 3.5% mortgage

“Why would I give up my 3.5% rate?” I hear it every week. So here is a family I worked through on video: they owe $260,000, take home $9,500 a month and spend $5,300.

On their mortgage the rate only sets a fixed payment for 25 years. On the HELOC, interest is counted on each day's balance, so the debt is gone in 6.6 years. Raise the HELOC to 10% and it takes 7.1.

And first-lien HELOC rates run close to mortgage rates. The 8 to 11% you have in mind is what a second-lien HELOC costs.

$130,486interest over 25.1 years on the mortgage, at 3.5%

$68,860interest over 6.6 years on the HELOC, at 8%

Mortgage payoff calculator

Now make it yours. Put in your own numbers and watch your payoff date move.

Mortgage balance$320,000

Mortgage rate6.5%

Years left27 years

HELOC rate8%

Take-home income a month$9,500

Spending, mortgage excluded$4,800

Savings moved onto the line$10,000

Mortgage-free with the HELOC method: 7 years 3 months
Mortgage-free on your current schedule: 27 years

With these numbers the balance does not fall faster than your mortgage does. The method needs more money left over each month.

TodayYear 27

Interest you would not pay: $265,402
Mortgage-free sooner by: 19 years 9 months
Left over a month today: $2,602

Go through these numbers with me

An estimate for education, not financial advice. It assumes steady income, spending and rates; real HELOC rates move, and the speed comes from what you have left over each month. With my $350K example it gives the same answer as my own calculator.

Myron Golden paid off $1.7 million in 25 months

“I can think of nothing that I've ever done in my life that has given me more access as a consumer to my own wealth.”

Myron GoldenBusiness coach, in our interview

I helped Myron move the loan on his $2.5 million home to a $2 million first-lien HELOC, and he paid it down with cash that was earning nothing in the bank. When a tax bill came due he drew $400,000 back out, then paid it down again. That is what having access to your own money feels like.

$21,000a month on the mortgage, at 9.25%

$9,300a month on the HELOC, interest only, at 6.25%

Why this is different

Most mortgage and financial advisors were never taught this. It is homeowner education that 99% of people never receive.

I will never ask you to invest, flip houses or borrow dangerously. The debt is the one you already have, on a loan that lets you reach your own money. I want you to see clearly how your money can work better for you.

No pressure
The call is free, and the decision afterwards is yours.
No risky tactics
You start with the same debt you carry today.
No “get rich quick” promises
It takes 5 to 8 years of spending less than you earn.

I was a worship pastor with 27 years left on my mortgage

I followed the rules. I made extra payments. I did what every advisor said I should do. And I still felt stuck.

I spent over 20 years in full-time ministry. In June 2020 my wife was teaching elementary school, we earned about $140,000 a year between us, and the bank had us down for 27 more years. Once I understood how a first lien works, my math said eight and a half.

I finished in just over three, by adding strategies along the way. My advisors called the idea risky. My answer: come look at my note. It's zero.

What I got back was bigger than a house. I got 24 years of my life without that debt, and control of my money again. That is what I want for you.

Tyler Hennessee, seated and smiling, in a dark polo shirt

Questions

The ten I hear most, answered the way I would answer them on a call.

Ask me yours on a strategy call

Could I pay the same extra onto my mortgage?

You could, and I'll be straight with you: the house would be paid off in about the same time. What changes is what happens to your money along the way. On the mortgage every extra dollar is locked in and your payment never drops. On the HELOC you can draw it back out if life happens, and your whole paycheck is lowering your interest while it waits to be spent.

Does an interest-only payment ever lower the balance?

It does, and this is the part that surprises people. The bank only requires the interest each month. Everything else you leave on the line comes straight off the principal, and as the balance falls, next month's interest falls with it.

My mortgage rate is 3%. Should I swap it for a HELOC at 8%?

I get this one more than any other, and I understand why. On a mortgage your rate only sets a fixed payment; the real cost comes from the years. In the example I teach, an 8% HELOC costs about half the interest of a 3.5% mortgage, because the debt is gone in 6.6 years.

Is a variable rate risky?

It moves, yes. Most HELOC rates follow the prime rate. But run the numbers with me: in my example, going from 8% to 10% adds about half a year. That is why I look at time first, then balance, and rate last.

What if I lose my job?

This is where the method protects you. What you paid in is still there to draw on, and the only payment the bank requires is the interest. I have had clients lose a job and keep their home.

Could I lose my home?

Any loan secured by your home carries that risk, and your mortgage is one of them. I'd argue the mortgage is the riskier of the two: the payment is fixed, and you can't reach your equity at the moment you need it most.

Who qualifies?

I look at three things: a credit score of 700 or more, at least 10% equity in your home (15 to 20% is better), and $500 to $1,000 or more left over each month. About one in three people who call me qualify, and I would sooner tell you no than put you in something that doesn't fit.

Are you a mortgage lender?

No, I'm a coach. My team connects you with partner banks that offer first-lien HELOCs, and then we teach you how to use one. Most of those banks charge no closing costs.

Is the strategy call free?

Yes, the call costs you nothing. If we go further, the price depends on your situation and the bank, so there is no single number I can print here. You will hear it on the call, before you decide anything.

Does a HELOC work in my state, or on a rental home?

It works in every US state. In Texas you need 12 months since your purchase or last refinance. Rentals and second homes qualify too, at a lower share of the home's value, but I'd start with the home you live in.

I paid off my 27‑year mortgage in 3 years