How to Pay Off Your Home in 5-10 Years Instead of 30!

What if I could tell you a way to pay off your home in just five to 10 years without making extra payments? Most homeowners are familiar with a traditional mortgage, where you make fixed payments for 15, but usually 30 years, until the loan is fully paid off. But what if there was a way to pay off your home years faster while keeping access to your equity and saving you thousands of dollars in interest?

That's exactly what a first-position HELOC can do, and I'm using this strategy myself right now.

But we haven't met yet. My name is Curtis Chism. I'm a real estate expert, and I help homeowners understand smart financing strategies to build wealth through real estate. But I'm not just talking about theory—I'm actually using a first-position HELOC myself. And with my current payoff schedule, I'll have my home paid off probably in about three years, compared to the 27 and a half years I had remaining on my original mortgage.

And here's how it works: A first-position HELOC, or home equity line of credit, is different from a traditional mortgage because instead of borrowing a lump sum and making fixed payments, you have a revolving line of credit—kind of like a checking account. But unlike a regular HELOC, this one replaces your mortgage entirely. Instead of making a fixed monthly mortgage payment, your income is deposited directly into your HELOC, reducing the loan balance every time you get paid.

Since HELOCs calculate interest daily, this means the more money sitting in your account, the less interest you pay. You then pay your expenses like normal, but because your income is constantly lowering your balance, you end up paying significantly less interest over time.

Let's say you have a $400,000 home and owe $250,000 on your mortgage. Instead of refinancing into another 30-year loan, you take out a first-position HELOC for $250,000, which fully replaces your mortgage. Now your paycheck goes directly into the HELOC, lowering the balance immediately. When you withdraw money for expenses, you're only borrowing what you need. And since the interest is calculated on a smaller balance, you pay less interest over time compared to a traditional mortgage.

Most homeowners with a mortgage spend the first 10 to 15 years of their payments just covering interest because traditional loans front-load the interest. The first-position HELOC flips the script. You're constantly reducing your principal, which minimizes the amount of interest you pay and allows you to pay off your home much faster.

This is exactly why I refinanced my own home into my first-position HELOC. Instead of sticking with my old mortgage, where I had 27 and a half years left to pay, I'm now on track to pay off my home in just three years. By using my HELOC as my main checking account, I'm keeping my expenses lower than my income and letting my deposits reduce my balance. I've been able to dramatically cut down on interest and mortgage insurance costs.

And this is something that banks don't advertise because they make most of their money off long-term mortgage interest.

Now, this strategy works best for homeowners who have positive cash flow—meaning you make more than you spend each month. If you put your income into your HELOC and you keep your expenses lower, you can easily pay off your home in five to 10 years instead of 30 years.

Another major benefit of a first-position HELOC is liquidity. With a traditional mortgage, once you make a payment, that money is locked up in your home's equity. But with a HELOC, you can access your equity at any time. So if you need money for an investment, home improvement, or just for an emergency, it's always available to you.

This isn't the right strategy for everyone, but for homeowners who have good financial discipline, positive cash flow, and want to avoid paying excessive interest to the bank, a first-position HELOC can be an absolute game-changer.

If you're interested in learning whether this strategy could work for you, just give me a call or text me today. I work with lenders who specialize in first-position HELOCs and can walk you through how it could help you pay off your home faster and save you thousands in interest.

In fact, I actually have a calculator that I can send you, so you can take a look at it, play around with it, and see if this strategy works great for you or not. And if it does, you can schedule a call with the lender to see if it makes sense.

Just reach out to me today! Looking forward to talking to you soon about a first-position HELOC and how it might help you.