What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
We had a 30-year mortgage with a starting balance of $289,000.
We had been paying $200 / month of mortgage insurance for 2 years and wanted a faster way to pay off our house without losing access to our money.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
In the past 9 months, we have taken our mortgage from $280,000 to $205,000. We have enough put into our HELOC already that we are able to afford a new pool.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
I thought it might be too good to be true, and I'm still nervous about how it will affect me come tax time.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
It has given me the freedom to pay off my house as fast as I want without worrying that I have paid in too much and can't get the money back out if I need it.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
Figure out how you want to use your money and how badly you don't want to be a slave to your mortgage payments.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
We had a 30-year mortgage with a starting balance of approximately $350,000.
When we joined RYM, we had approximately $325,000 in remaining principal balance after paying our monthly payment for 10 years.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
After 24 months, we have reduced our principal balance by $65,000.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
My best friend, Steve Brown, was working his way through the process. I wanted to see his results prior to joining.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
Each month has a new level of excitement.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
Do not wait. Do it now. Stop putting it off. This will change your life.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
I had a 30-year conventional $391,000 original balance.
I was down to $330,000 and managed to appraise for $415,000.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
After 6 months, we are below $300,000. Paid off all my debt, plus I’ve used my HELOC to purchase a second home and real estate rentals.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
I was most nervous about finding a bank that would fit our situation. We really needed to have 90% LTV.
But the appraisal came back higher than expected, so it all worked well. Also concerned about going “off the reservation” (being non-traditional). Looking back, it was silly. I’m glad to have persevered.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
It has completely and totally changed my life.
We had so much debt and we were working hard to just make ends meet.
I was introduced to the idea of purchasing performing assets through the RYM group. That group alone has changed my life.
I’m now building my real estate empire and hope to be able to quit my W-2 job in 2-5 years (about the time my kids will be in little league baseball and softball). I’ll be able to spend so much time with my family and see the world.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
No matter how nervous you are, watch the training videos. Take notes. If you don’t understand. watch again and consult the RYM folks.
Interview banks. Some will try to scare you. Narrow it down to which banks best fit your financial situation.
TAKE ACTION. Don’t stay on the sidelines. This really will change your life.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
I started with a 30-year conventional loan about 4 years ago and recently converted over to a HELOC loan.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
Getting the actual loan took about 60 days, I believe, but after I have reduced my principal by about $7,000 dollars within the first three to four payments of the loan.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
My biggest concern was being stuck in a bad situation with my home and not being able fix the issue, but after realizing I could go back to a conventional loan cleared my fears of it. My consultant had all the answers for me and was very patient with me, which helped a lot.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
It has given me hope that one day I will not only own my own home, but I should be able to achieve another as well, so that I can actually retire one day. Hope and freedom in the future is priceless to me.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
I would say go for it and, if you do not like it at some point, you can always return back to a conventional loan in the future.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
We had just refinanced after years of being under water with a 30-year mortgage.
We had a first mortgage paying interest only and a second mortgage with an interest rate of 10.275%
Our principal balance was $217,000 after paying our monthly payment for 12 long years.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
After 12 months, we have reduced our balance from $234,000 to $178,000.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
I was concerned with changing banks and that I wouldn’t budget our money enough.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
I see a way to not only pay off our mortgage early but also to pursue my dream of real estate investing to create passive income.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
Do it, and do it now.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
We had a 30 year death pledge (also known as a mortgage) of around $220,000 with a 4.75% interest rate.
After 4 years of making the normal monthly payments, plus a few extra payments from tax returns, we were at a balance of $205,000. This is the time we started RYM.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
Our balance is currently at $156,000. This is after 9 months of being on the RYM program.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
We didn’t know anyone who had personally used the RYM strategy, so we were skeptical.
We searched for reviews online and, even though we didn’t see positive reviews (other than from the RYM website), we didn’t see any negative reviews, so we assumed it was legitimate.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
I wouldn’t say it’s been life changing yet, but I hope that once my house is paid off well ahead of schedule that it will open up many avenues to financial freedom.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
Make the “discovery” call and see if you’re a good candidate. You’ve got nothing to lose.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
We had a 30-year mortgage with a starting balance of $200,000.
When we joined RYM, we had $165,000 in remaining monthly payments for another 21 years.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
We have had our HELOC for almost 3 months and have brought our principal balance down from $165,000 to $111,000.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
We were concerned that it was "too good to be true," but after working with the numbers and talking with our RYM consultant, we were confident in joining RYM.
Looking back now, we wish we would have known about this strategy sooner and taken advantage of it when we first got married 20 years ago and bought our first house.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
We feel more confident that this the best way to manage our money. It is helping us realize our biblical goals of being completely debt-free.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
We would tell them the same thing as the RYM consultant told us... "It's math, not magic."
You must be disciplined with your money and work a budget. We would never tell anyone that is undisciplined with their money to use the RYM technique.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
We had a $380,000 mortgage when we started in February 2018.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
We are 8 months into our HELOC. We were down to $360,000 after only a few months. Unfortunately, we had over $45,000 in unexpected expenses over the last 3 months, and so we are back up at $390,000.
But without RYM, I’m not sure how I would have afforded these expenses.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
We were not sure how it would work but, after watching the videos and reading the book and talking to the consultant, we decided to take the leap
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
If we did not have that equity, the $45,000 in unexpected expenses would have bled us dry and put us deep in debt with high-interest credit cards.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
It works. Stick to the strategy, keep living within your means, and it can change your life
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
We had a 30-year mortgage and other debt. We combined our debt and the mortgage into a HELOC.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
After 5 months, our HELOC balance is down by $24,000 so far, and we are so excited to see where we are in a year. I’m so grateful my husband clicked on your link Michael. God Bless.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
Our biggest concerns were “Will this work?” and “How?” and “Why haven’t we heard about this tool before?”
Watching the videos on your website helped us wrap our heads around this strategy. We had to change the way we thought about traditional mortgages. It really lit a fire under our skin, because we have been giving so much money to the banks.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
I love that my lifestyle has stayed the same, and I’m paying down my debt. There is a big light at the end of the tunnel now. I feel more in control.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
I would tell them to add up all of their debt and use the RYM calculator. Seeing is believing. It is so exciting to see the spreadsheet.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
I had a traditional 30-year mortgage with balance of $390,000. I joined RYM in March 2018.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
I received a HELOC loan for $420,000. replaced the mortgage and paid down the loan to $320,000. But then I loaned out $85,000 to a home flipper at 10% while I pay 4.99%.
I'm only 6 months in and, right now, I have $421,000 balance due to an $85,000 loan I made.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
I was worried about rising interest rates, but I understand that if I pay off the loan quickly, a slightly higher interest rate is not a big deal due to quicker payoff.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
It has allowed me to make some investments in the form of loans that will help me pay down my mortgage more quickly.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
Rate is not the most important factor. Access to the right accounts and transfer of money is more important.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
I'm in the Air Force and we move around every 3-4 years.
We own 2 other rental properties, but we purchased our current home in Virginia with a first-lien HELOC. The purchase price was $729,500 and I brought $75,000 to closing to meet the 90% LTV limit.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
After 10 months, my principal balance is $650,000.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
It was an iterative process of discovery and initial doubts. Finding the initial advertisement on FB and determining that it wasn't a scam was the first hurdle.
Thereafter, reading the book, watching the red-bearded wonder (Michael Lush) on YouTube and the first and second discovery calls happened in quick succession. The consultant very much helped to put me at ease, but the math just works.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
IT IS EMPOWERING.
When the light bulb finally went on, I felt like a heel. I had been living in the bank's pocket all my life and didn't know there was a different way. It's akin to waking up out of the Matrix and discovering the truth.
Thank you for finding me, educating me and empowering me. RYM is a revolution.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
It is so damn exciting when you "get it." You want to jump from the rooftops and dive in immediately.
My advice: Crunch the numbers and then crunch them again.
If you have multiple properties, ask for advice / consultation and determine the best way to go.
If the numbers don't quite work out yet, they will. Stay patient, diligent and disciplined.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
I had just purchased a country home in California. The cost was $450,000. We are blessed to know that we will pay that off in 11-12 years vs the 30-year mortgage we had.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
After 12 months, we have paid off $36,000 of principal balance.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
We were worried that this might be a scam ,as it sounded too good to be true. It’s hard to trust someone off of an internet ad.
It was when I started listening to a RYM consultant, and then I did due diligence, I believed it might be true.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
I’m now very diligent in how I spend my money. I try to not spend as much on going out and things like that.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
I say jump in with both feet. It's math, not magic.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
Sandy and I had a 30-year mortgage with a starting balance of $51,000.
We had been making payments for 7 years and 2 months, which included double payments for 6 months. Our remaining balance was $41,700, with annual interest of around $2,183, when we signed on with Replace Your Mortgage.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
Since we funded our first-lien HELOC in mid-September, we have reduced our outstanding balance from $41,378 to $26,026 by mid-October.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
As you might understand from the size of our mortgage, we are not big spenders. So, the cost of the program caused some hesitation. However, once we realized how much we were paying in interest yearly and how much sooner we could reach our payoff, it was a simple choice.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
We are making better use of our liquid assets to reduce our principal and interest, while still having access to investment capital from the HELOC.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
Find your mortgage paperwork, and then find an online amortization calculator. Enter your amount and terms. Then, figure your yearly interest for the duration of your loan.
Second, run the HELOC calculator at ReplaceYourMortgage.com, and see if you can afford not to invest in that program.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
I had a VA 30-year fixed mortgage. The original principal was $150,400, and I had a $146,200 remaining principal balance after living there for just over a year.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
I was a little short on the equity needed but brought money to the table at closing. I believe in the RYM strategy and feel that it was well worth it.
My HELOC principal balance is $136,400 after 2 months since closing.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
I didn’t really understand the strategy, but after watching the videos on RYM and talking to Matt, I felt more confident and comfortable.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
It has allowed me to see how my money can work for me versus it working for the banks. Example: fractional reserve banking.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
Get over the fear of doing something different simply because you don’t understand it. This strategy is unfamiliar and “outside the box,” but it’s where the gold nuggets are hidden.
moWhat was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
We had a 30-year mortgage with a starting balance of $169,000. We had lived in the house for 5 years and had paid off only around $10,000.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
We just closed on our HELOC after over a year of joining RYM. We had some bad circumstances, though, that played a factor in all of that, including a flood in our house and a death in the family.
The rest of the hold-up was because our bank was very slow throughout the whole process, which in the end worked for us because we dodged a bullet from going with them and are happy with our current bank. As soon as we started the process with them, it took us about a month to close.
We are on schedule to paying off our whole house in under 8 years without changing our lifestyle a bit.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
Our biggest concern was that it was a lot of money for us. Don't get me wrong, we knew it was worth every penny and did not need convincing. But that was the biggest sting into starting the process with RYM. But again, worth every penny.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
I see freedom. RYM created the "Aha" moment of "I can be financially free" in our lives.
It also opened my eyes to so many other things. Since RYM, we have learned about ways to leverage debt, invest, become our own banker and earn passive income.
We will be the first in our family lines to build true wealth. That is exciting for us and those who come after us.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
Learn all you can about velocity banking and the power of leveraging debt. Why stop at just paying off your mortgage?
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
I had a 30-year traditional mortgage with a balance of $365,000 and a second-position HELOC with a balance of $61,000.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
We got our first-position HELOC in February of 2018.
We started at $426,000 and, after 8.5 months, we’re at $344,000. We reduced $82,000 in principal.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
My biggest concern was how to convince my spouse this was the right thing to do. After talking to our personal banker, he convinced her that, if we’re disciplined, the strategy will work.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
Knowing that we will be able to pay off our home long before our retirement age, which will give us more time to keep saving for our retirement. We wish we would have done this years ago.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
Make sure you make more than you spend, and stay the course.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
We started with a 25-year mortgage with $150,000 and about $150,000 in other debt.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
Our HELOC balance has barely gone down over this year (we've only lowered the balance by $2,000), BUT we've used the strategy to pay off most of our debt. Once we get this other debt paid off, we'll start driving down the HELOC balance.
We've also increased our cash flow over this year from $500 per month to $2,600 per month.
We started with very little equity.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
We were nervous about spending on advice when we could spend that money to pay off debt.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
RYM had really opened my eyes to how banking and personal finance ACTUALLY works. These concepts are vitally important to financial health, and nobody ever taught me this before.
It helped secure my family’s future, not just now but for my son as he grows up.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
The longer you delay, the more it costs you. Do the math. Numbers don't lie.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
Initially, we had a 30 year fixed mortgage starting with a balance of $360,000 in California.
After only two years, I received and accepted a job offer in Ohio and decided to join RYM before purchasing my next home.
We bought the home for $250,000 and, after only one year, our principal balance due is already down to $218,000.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
After 12 months, we have reduced our principal balance to $218,000.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
Skepticism made it difficult to join RYM at first but, after doing the math, I knew this was the right decision for us.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
Quite frankly, the strategy has made banking easier. Everything goes in and out of one account, making it easy to keep track.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
Do the math. It’s math, not magic.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
We refinanced our home in 2014 to a 15-year mortgage with a starting balance of $353,554.
When we joined RYM, we had a remaining balance of $276,000, but we were making double payments and, because of that, we developed a large amount of bills. So, in order to pay all of our bills and our mortgage, we needed a HELOC for $341,000.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
After 9 months, we are still debt-free and have reduced our principal by $63,000. Our current balance is $278,000.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
I thought it was a scam until I really began to research and listen to all of the Youtube videos. It began to make sense and, after running the numbers, I felt like it was worth a chance.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
RYM completely changed our life. Our debt was driving our life.
We are now looking for ways to use the equity we've built in our home to find passive income.
I went from being worried each month to being excited each month. Absolutely life changing.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
That it really works, and to do their own research. Honestly, that's what it takes for most people.
I tell everybody about what I'm doing, but I always refer them to the videos online. They explain the process, and then they can run their numbers in your calculator. It's not magic, it's math.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
I bought a home in 2008 for $475,000, with primary (80%) and secondary (15%) mortgages.
I re-financed the primary twice, ending up with a 15-year note.
We moved in the beginning of 2016, but kept the original property as a rental.
As of mid-2018, I owed $275,000 on the mortgages. My current primary residence has a 30-year mortgage with a balance of $623,000. I have paid down approximately $30,000 of the balance in 2.5 years.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
I closed on a $300,000 HELOC for my rental on September 13th. This paid off the existing notes.
I was immediately able to put all of my liquid cash and emergency savings into paying down the balance, such that I currently owe only $133,000. Paying interest on $133,000 is a lot less than paying interest on $275,000.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
I wasn't sure if I really needed help from RYM or, having understood the basic strategy, if I could just implement it myself. The joining fee made me consider very carefully whether I would be getting my money's worth, since the strategy is really not rocket science.
Yet, knowing how busy I am, I knew that having the peer pressure, follow-up, and support would make me more likely to take action.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
RYM educated me more about what is possible with real estate.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
No reason to have a mortgage if you can qualify for a HELOC. It's a much more flexible product.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
My family and I had just moved to Florida from Tennessee, where I knew Michael from a previous traditional mortgage transaction. He reached out to me about RYM, and I was all in from the get-go.
Before enacting the strategy on my Tennessee home and going through the refinancing process, we purchased a new home in Florida with a first-lien HELOC. We have been working the strategy ever since.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
I have two HELOCs, one on my primary home and one on an investment rental property in Gatlinburg.
We had enough equity within six months of closing on our primary home that we were we able to put a down payment on the investment property.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
Getting buy-in from my wife by being able to answer all her questions. Otherwise, it was easy to see why it was a far better option.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
The RYM strategy brings additional income from an investment property we would have otherwise not been able to acquire. I’m looking forward to repeating the process over and over.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
Make sure you have a sound understanding of the strategy and how you need to execute the flow of money to be successful. It may take several times reviewing the same info for it to click.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
I had a 30-year mortgage on a house that I originally purchased for $372,000.
Due to a couple of refinances (chasing interest rates), after three years of making payments, I actually owed $377,000 on the house when I began the RYM program.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
After 3 months, I have reduced my principal balance by $31,000.
After 3 years of making payments on a traditional mortgage, I actually increased the amount of money I owed due to refinancing.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
My biggest concern was the cost of the program and whether or not the program was worth the price.
What helped me overcome that concern was just doing a LOT of research and running the numbers over and over again.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
My current life hasn't changed, but I think my future has.
Knowing that I am now on pace to pay off my house in 4 years (as opposed to 30) completely changes the outlook on my future and opens up amazing possibilities.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
This program isn't magic. Simply signing up won't automatically pay off your house.
You still need to be disciplined and diligent in your money management (maybe even more so, since you will now have access to a large line of credit). However, if you can be disciplined, you will see some amazing results.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
We had a 30-year mortgage at 3.25% starting in 2013. Our beginning balance was $190,000.
When we began with RYM, our balance had gone down to $168,000.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
It took us three weeks to get the HELOC.
In two months on the strategy, we have been able to reduce our balance to $138,000 by using what we used to keep in checking / savings and putting it to work for us instead of losing money.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
I really thought it must be too good to be true. I tried to find errors in the logic, and I was not able to.
The math made too much sense in my mind for it to not work. It really is just math.
But I wanted to see if I was going to be locked into the process with no way out (without losing a ton of money). When I found out you could always refinance into an old-fashioned loan, that gave me some peace.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
We are now thinking about how we can use our money in a much more efficient manner and leverage our money to provide the biggest impact.
We’re looking forward to the future. We really needed this, since my career recently ended due to my health conditions. Yet the future is brighter now than it was even before my health situation changed.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
Just try it and go for it. It will quickly pay for itself, and there is always a way to get out if you aren’t thrilled with the results. If you are spending less than you earn, this can work for you.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
We were first-time home owners who got into a 30-year mortgage with a starting balance of $400,900, paying Private Mortgage Insurance.
When we joined RYM, we had $398,000 in remaining principal balance after paying our monthly payment for a year.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
After only 3 months utilizing the HELOC, we have reduced our principal balance to $376,000.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
We were worried about the variable rate, but after listening to the videos and the Facebook sessions with Michael, that was cleared up.
The rate (plus time) is the most important aspect. With the HELOC strategy, you reduce your time so significantly that the variable rate doesn't affect you as much as if you were in a variable-rate mortgage for 30 years.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
The RYM strategy has opened the doors for future investing -- and, really, obtaining financial freedom before I am old and getting ready to retire.
We are very excited to move forward with achieving our financial goals. We’re hoping to utilize this strategy to build our own real estate portfolio that brings in passive income to allow for us to retire early.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
Figure out how to live below what you take home by establishing a zero-sum budget. Understanding how you spend your money with a solid budget will help you gain the discipline to implement the RYM strategy.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
Our primary home was five years into a 15 year fixed 2.875% mortgage, and we had just purchased an investment home on a 30-year 4.25% mortgage.
Our combined debt was $650,000, with monthly payments of $3,400 and $2,500, respectively.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
After 9 months as part of RYM, we were able to close on a first-position HELOC on our primary home, to unlock an additional $400,000 in liquidity to purchase an additional investment property.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
I thought for years that there must be a way to unlock the potential equity in our home but never pursued it.
After learning about the strategy, I asked an Australian Air Force pilot friend if he had used the offset mortgage program Down Under (in Australia).
He described it just like Michael Lush does and even added that it is not for everyone. He described what happened to his sister, who failed to maintain the discipline required to make the strategy work.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
The RYM strategy has given me a fresh way at looking at financing and real estate investing. Rather that just locking money up in investments, RYM gives you the ability to replenish the war chest so that wealth can be created instead of squandered.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
I advise my friends to think carefully about their long-term objectives and to identify the specific challenges that they face in meeting those goals.
Once they realize that housing expenses are roughly 30% of their income, showing them how to minimize that expense is an easy conversation.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
Prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage (RYM) in November of 2017, my wife and I had just closed on a brand new home with a 30-year conventional mortgage at a 3.875% interest rate.
We put 5% down at closing and had a balance left of around $205,000 by the time we joined RYM in June of 2018.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
After joining RYM, and diving head first into the education, we closed on our HELOC in June of 2018 with a 90% Loan-to-Value (LTV) making our principal balance $209,000.
This was the first time we had ever received money at closing instead of having to fork over everything we had to the bank. We actually started our HELOC with $4,000 already sitting in the account. How crazy is that?
After putting all our money into the HELOC that we had sitting laying around in various checking and savings accounts, 4 months later we now have a balance of $171,230.
Who knew we had that much money in accounts that were doing nothing for us when it could have been helping us pay down our debt all along?
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
Our biggest concern when deciding to join RYM was the initial up-front cost of the program. It wasn't cheap.
However, after speaking with our consultant (who was very knowledgeable and seemed honest, I might add), we were more than willing to pay for the education and guidance we felt was needed to get things done...the right way.
Also, MATH DOESN'T LIE.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
The RYM strategy has changed our lives for the better in many ways.
I love logging into my HELOC account every time I get paid to see “the bottom line” going down and down.
Also, being part of the Facebook community (that is included free of charge) has helped me find many additional ways to make my money work for me.
I now think about money in a totally different way than I did before. The last few months have been such an eye opener and a positive experience.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
One of the main reasons I decided to take the plunge was the amount of money I was going to save in Principal Mortgage Insurance (PMI) going with the HELOC instead of keeping the conventional mortgage.
Before implementing the RYM strategy, I was paying $840 a year in PMI alone. In my opinion, the money you save not having to pay PMI pretty much pays for the program and then some.
Also, it's just math.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
We had a traditional mortgage on our primary home, which we purchased for $395,000.
When we joined RYM, we owed about $316,000 on the primary mortgage on a 20-year note, and our only "asset" was the home, so we had $395,000 in assets.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
In less than two years, we utilized the RYM strategy to acquire three additional properties, which we currently rent out for $3,725/month ($44,700 / year in revenue).
In addition to the cash-flow we've generated, our assets have increased from $395,000 to over $1,000,000 (currently $1,058,000).
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
We were concerned about interest rates fluctuating dramatically, but we have found that the RYM strategy works so well that interest rate increases are not a concern.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
Prior to RYM, paying the bills was a very stressful event for us as a couple.
Now, our time dedicated to financial management has become much less stressful as nearly everything is on "auto-pilot."
We also feel better about the future, as we now have assets that are bringing in cash-flow with monthly recurring revenue, as well as increasing in value.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
You'll be amazed at the progress you can make financially if you ditch the traditional mortgage model. It favors banking institutions at the cost of keeping its borrowers shackled to debt.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
We had a 30-year mortgage fixed rate mortgage with a low interest rate (around 4 percent) and a starting balance of $220,000.
When we joined RYM we had about $214,000 remaining in principal balance after paying our monthly payment for 4 years.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
It has been about 2 years since we started RYM.
In that time, we have used capital from our HELOC to invest $50,000 in a real estate deal, $10,000 in starting a new business and weathered two back-to-back financial crises (one involving both legal and medical bills, and the other due to our primary wage-earner’s unexpected job loss).
We currently owe $233,000 on our HELOC, with a ceiling of $269,000 possible on that loan. (The high ceiling was due to real estate appreciation prior to getting the loan.)
We are also carrying an additional $51,300 in temporary 0% APR interest rate credit card debt that we incurred in order to make sure that we still had room for unexpected contingencies in our HELOC loan.
Repayment on this should begin in February or March of 2019. Given how the new business is going, I expect us to be able to bring that all back into the HELOC before jumping to the higher long-term credit card interest rates.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
My biggest concern was the rising interest rate environment and the fact that the loans were variable interest rate loans. It seemed like there was a possibility where interest rates and interest expenses could outpace our ability to increase payments on the loan.
After thinking deeper on this, however, I realized that while this was a true risk factor, there were other risk factors involved in not having access to the capital that was tied up in the house. Because of that, my husband and I decided to go forward with getting the loan, even if we will end up paying more in interest in the short-term.
For us, the flexibility of having access to capital when we might need it to take care of our large family (we have seven children) was more important than the spread in interest rates. After all, that has happened in the last 2 years. I am so VERY glad that we made this choice.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
RYM has provided a huge peace of mind in knowing that at least our near-term financial future is financially secure, even when life took scary and unexpected turns.
It gave us time and a runway to start our own business after my husband lost his well-paying job.
It has significantly decreased financial stress in our lives and has allowed us to handle the emergencies that come up without completely derailing our financial future.
By being able to invest now in our own business, even in tight financial times, it has allowed us to lay the foundation for strong future growth.
I expect, at the end of next year, we will find that we are better setup than ever to tackle the increased debt load that we have had to take on -- and to quickly get back to firmer financial footing.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
When you think about financial risks, do not only think about the risk of rising interest rates. Think about the risk of being unable to access capital if you find yourself suddenly unemployed or in another emergency situation.
Also, think about the ability to use capital to pursue investment opportunities.
Think about and figure out what strategies you are most comfortable with. Do you want to keep a large six-month living expense available? Do you want to aggressively pay down debt? Do you want to invest in high return opportunities?
Also, when looking at investments, keep in mind that investments can fail. At that point, you are on the hook for whatever debt you took on for those investments.
Or investments can simply lock up capital for a very long time. I suggest figuring out what your minimum comfortable emergency runway is and keeping that in your HELOC regardless of what investment opportunities come up.
With hindsight, if I could do anything differently, I would not have made the $50,000 real estate investment that we chose to make, and kept that money in the account as cushion instead. While I don't expect to lose the money that I put into the real estate investment, that capital is now locked up for a long time. In hindsight, it would have been better to keep that as part of our emergency fund.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
We had a 30-year mortgage with a starting balance of $185,000. We also had a 30-year mortgage on an investment property with a starting balance of $100,000 balance. When we joined RYM, we owed $180,000 on our primary residence and $80,000 on our investment property.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
We used a $268,000 HELOC to replace both mortgages. After 7 months we paid off $49,000, and owe $219,000.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
We were worried that circumstances would change, and we wouldn't be able to consistently execute the strategy.
But many of the modules, and the videos in the Facebook group, go in-depth to show how the strategy allows for more flexibility than a traditional mortgage.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
Before we found this strategy, we were slaves to our budget and thinking about how we could reduce our expenses.
The RYM strategy showed us how to reduce our biggest expense -- our mortgage -- but also introduced us to a whole new way of thinking about finances, so that now we are increasing our means rather than just reducing expenses.
The community on Facebook is a treasure trove of research, information, ideas and wealth building. It was an unexpected but extremely valuable component of this program. We can truly say this program changed our family's wealth trajectory and life.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
Do the numbers over and over again until this system really sinks in.
Then, think about how you can use the system not just to pay off your mortgage, but also to increase your flexibility, liquidity, access to cash for future investments, and how you can leverage this network of knowledgeable experts and investors.
You will see that the strategy is totally worthwhile.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
We moved to Waxhaw, North Carolina from Portland, Oregon and purchased a home for $170,000.
After chasing rates and refinancing a couple of times, as well as taking out a line of credit for remodels and improvements, we sold that same house for $230,000 and netted a whopping profit of $28,000 after paying mortgages for almost 20 years. Talk about a bad investment.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
We are currently in our 15th month with the HELOC. We started with a balance of $295,000, and our current balance is $179,000.
The plan is working to perfection and faster than the original calculations.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
Our biggest concern was, if the plan was so good, why isn't everyone doing it?
After being taken to the cleaners by the banks from our last house, I did a lot of investigating and i found that the current banking structure in the US is nothing more than vultures preying on the uneducated.
RYM is providing the education that can show people the way to take advantage of the opportunities that are present. You don't have to be a genius to follow the plan, just disciplined and determined.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
We are actively planning on our retirement that should happen within the next 10 years. With this plan, we are embracing the future and the possibilities. Before we honestly didn't know how we were going to do it.
We are looking at investment opportunities and vacation homes that are viable options, not dreams.
The biggest benefit for us is that our children will have the knowledge to better their financial future.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
If you are living within your means and are disciplined to follow the teachings, you will be amazed by the results.
It is not a get-rich-quick scheme, and you will have to put in the work to make the plan possible, but make no mistake the plan works if you work the plan.
My only regret is that i did not have the RYM education 30 years ago. God Bless the RYM group for showing us how to become financially responsible and for the opportunities it allows.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
My wife and I bought our home for $125,000 in 2011.
When we started RYM, we were down to $115,000 with a refinance in 2016 to lower the payment.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
Since joining RYM in March 2018, we received our HELOC in June, added $50,000 of debt to the HELOC and have already paid down close to $12,000. in addition to paying monthly bills so far.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
My biggest fear was actually the fee for joining RYM. I have been burned in the past with my previous condo that went EXTREMELY upside-down, by a company promising to help eliminate some of the upside-down debt on the condo. Instead, they took me for $4,000.
So, needless to say, I was petrified handing money over to another company that had what looked like a great opportunity. But I got over it by sticking to my roots of being a numbers person, and the numbers did not lie.
The final decision of whether to go Gold or Platinum was made by my conversation with George Underwoody, in how he did not pressure me for an answer and allowed my paranoid questions. BEST DECISION EVER.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
I'm only in about 4 months, but RYM has changed the way I look at my finances. The HELOC strategy has allowed my family to pay down our debt on the house with an assurance that the money is still available if it is needed.
I have tried paying extra in the past (with a mortgage) but found that it sometimes caused me to miss out on opportunities later.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
Run the numbers. Simply that. If you don't know how or are bad with numbers, get an accountant that you can speak to about running the numbers. You will see how this strategy will work for you.
The only other advice would be to maintain discipline and patience. Setting up the HELOC is not a sprint. It's a cross-country run.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
My wife and I had a 30-year mortgage. We were about 2 years into a refi with Amerihome. We had $482,000 in debt at 3.8%.
Our house was increasing in value, yet it looked impossible to get at its value and do something positive. We have four kids and never seemed to get ahead.
Boy has that changed.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
After six months of work, we finally have a first position HELOC and are just getting started on our journey. We have tapped into nearly $225,000 in cash value and have paid off all revolving debt.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
Our biggest fear was making another mortgage mistake and paying for it. Like everything in life, there was nothing guaranteed.
But honestly, our backs were to the wall and it took a few calls with John Lavender to ground us.
We looked at each other and said, “How can people not know about this?” What helped us more than anything was the education. It’s top notch. I know what to expect, and now I have a plan.
Even my wife's brother is a mortgage processor and had NEVER heard of this approach. It was unbelievable.
Now I feel like I can finally see daylight. We are looking at investment properties, investing in a business that is already building a customer base and our liabilities are slowly becoming assets.
And lastly, we're living in a place that is creating value in our life and our relationship. which is truly amazing.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
Honestly, I think it saved our relationship. When you love someone and you want to do anything for them, like I did for my wife, you want to promise a future.
The traditional mortgage was a brick that was dragging both of us down. We were never getting anywhere.
Now, we can both can see a way to build security. I can see a balance being paid down. I can see liabilities like cars quickly becoming paid-for assets. I look at my home like a part of my wealth, not an albatross of the American Dream that I'll never pay off. I can’t tell you how freeing that really feels.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
If you're skeptical (as we were), do your research, take all of the courses and do your calculations on the website.
The numbers will speak for themselves. And know, more than anything, that RYM lives on reputation with both consumers and lenders. They don't work with everyone, so if they're serious about you, it’s because they like your chances and will put you in a position to be successful. That should mean something to you.
You can do it! Take the leap, and be realistic about timing.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
We had a 30-year mortgage with a balance of $310,000. We had moved a lot in previous 16 years, so the mortgage was six months old with no end in sight for payments.
Lots of interest paid for years on home loans and closing costs and selling costs every time we moved.
This ate up most of our equity, so we also had a private mortgage insurance of $80 on the mortgages all the time.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
After one month, we have reduced the HELOC by $60,000, and see it going down more each time we get a paycheck.
It is such a blessing to us and has opened the eyes of many of our friends to new possibilities. This is so exciting for us.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
We analyzed numbers a lot on our own spreadsheets to make sure the math would work for our income and expenses — and to learn how interest rate changes would affect the HELOC.
When we could see that the interest rate wasn't the biggest factor in the paydown of the HELOC, we started seeing how much this would help our family and keep safety and liquidity for "rainy day funds" that we hadn't been able to do before.
Then we got a credit card with zero interest for six months and plan to use our HELOC to grow our investment properties as well. It is truly the best financial tool we have ever used.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
We feel so much more confident that we can reach our investment goals much faster than we thought possible.
Not needing to worry about money means we can serve people in our church and our friends and family even more.
Knowledge really is power, and this HELOC lets us have so much more freedom and control about how we pay for regular bills, while still creating safety and help for getting our house paid off much more quickly.
I know it will help many of our friends create great things for their families as well. And creating financial freedom makes a world of difference in how we can spend our time. Time is so much more valuable than money, in and of itself.
Letting the HELOC math work for us puts us in the driver’s seat as far as when and how much we can give back to others with our time and service.
It is just so totally exciting to see plans moving forward that we have worked on for years. And give our college children hope that they can do the same. They can relax and figure out how to contribute doing work they enjoy, and make the math happen to benefit them as well. It is going to grow so many good things in so many areas of our lives. What a great opportunity for us.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
Try it. You will be glad you did.
Work through your concerns and ask questions. Learn and think about possibilities. Let the knowledge and new doors opening make your lives and dreams possible in ways you never imagined.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
We had a 30-year mortgage with a balance of $158,000. When we joined RYM, I refinanced the mortgage into a HELOC for $202,000, and we almost maxed out the HELOC.(bumping up the balance to $200,000).
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
After 12 months, we have the HELOC down to $127,000.
We also have a four-unit property under contract as of a week ago — and hopefully to close in 30 days after an attorney review.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
Rising interest rates. Quite frankly, we are still concerned. I think you need both a fixed rate and a variable rate.
But, combined with the Infinite Banking concept to have an additional place to park your money, I think everyone will do great.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
Make me soooo much more aware of the time value of my money down to the day. Now, I calculate how much interest I have to pay if I don’t have that money and park it in my HELOC.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
Give it a try. Get a HELOC. Be aware of the time value of your money. I consider myself very financial savvy, but RYM takes it to the next level.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
We purchased a new home in April 2016. In the first 15 months, we paid $22,000 in mortgage payments. $17,000 went to the bank and only $5,000 to our principal balance.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
In nine months, we have reduced our principal balance by $35,000. We also pulled $5,000 out of our HELOC to take advantage of an investment opportunity that generated us a 20% return!
We are on track to pay off our home in six years. Plus, we love having the ability to access OUR money!
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
Our issue was just to understand how the HELOC and the program worked. It's different than a standard mortgage.
However, Edmund Fontana was extremely helpful and patient in working with us and answered all our questions.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
It will enable us to keep our “new home” into our retirement years, since we will own it free and clear!
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
I highly encourage all homeowners to take the time and understand the process. They will not regret it!
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
At age 57, we had our original 30-year mortgage, which started with $465,000 (May 2016). We had 28 years remaining at $461,000 when I took the deep dive into RYM.
I found RYM in October 2017 and finally signed up in December of 2017. Stood on the sidelines for another 5 months, talking at arms length with many of the listed bankers and working on improving my credit score and fact-checking the reality of the program.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
In July of 2018, I was able to secure a $500,000 prime - .09% loan (My credit score came in at 840!), carrying an initial balance of $450,000 in the HELOC.
Was able to skip payments until September but just jumped in and have reduced the balance to $445,000.
Now that I see how it works, I'm dropping a couple of high-interest credit card balances into the HELOC. So my balance will increase, but ultimately this is so cool... I'm taking my original mortgage payment of $3,000, adding the other high-interest loan (credit cards and vehicle) payments of $2,000, and using that same amount as my new HELOC Payment of $5,000.
My interest-only payment is around $1,500 per month. With my bank’s app, I can see the impact of my payments on a daily basis.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
I wanted to vet out the entire program and spent a lot of time monitoring the Facebook posts. I consulted with several of the banks and, when balanced with the Facebook comments, it helped me decide the direction and who I wanted to sign up with.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
Time will certainly tell. At my age, I'm hoping that during the next 10 years I can take advantage of the benefits of the HELOC.
Paying off our “forever” home, using it to set up life-changing events for my family (i.e., life insurance plans and home-based businesses) and knowing that I won't have a mortgage payment going into my retirement years... I sleep at night with confidence knowing that my future has a plan
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
Find a banker, establish a relationship with them, ask the questions and know the answers you want to hear.
Spend the time to understand and know your credit score and get it as high as you possibly can. I took the time to get all of my credit card, car and typical home and utility payments on or near the same date. In my case I moved all of my payments to the first week of the month. In this way, I knew when my score would go up or down based upon my credit usage and payments.
I used this information to know when to apply for a loan at the best possible time. Even now, this helps me manage when to move money around from my HELOC to my checking account.
Also, establish and know your budget, monthly income and expenses and stay disciplined to the process.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
We had a 30-year mortgage with a starting balance of $343,000.
When we started talking with RYM, we had $342,000 in the remaining principal balance after paying our monthly payment for four or five months.
Unfortunately, six months before starting with RYM, our financial adviser advised us against RYM and to just refinance to a conventional mortgage. This was a big mistake! I wish I had called RYM for a second opinion.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
This will our first month, starting with a balance of $334,000.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
We were worried that the bank could freeze the credit line. But, after speaking with our consultant and watching one of Mike’s videos, we felt comfortable moving forward with the strategy.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
We feel like we have a clearly established financial foundation that we can build on. with a fighting chance to meet our goals.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
Take time to clearly understand the strategy with an open mind, and consider the risks that you are taking with your current setup. Trust the math, as the math doesn't lie.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
Prior to RYM, I had two rental properties, each on 30-year terms at 5.25% with about $42,000 balance on each after 7 years.
I used the RYM strategy to refinance both properties into interest-only HELOCs at 5.75%, which unlocked about $35,000 of equity which I could use to find more investment properties.
I’m in the process of building a new primary residence, which I’ll also finance with HELOC, once it’s complete.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
Our HELOCs on the rental properties just closed a month ago, so we have yet to see the reduction in cost because we haven’t made a payment yet. 🙂
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
Biggest fear in joining RYM was paying the fee to join and being left with no support going forward.
This was definitely was NOT the case with RYM. The ongoing, daily engagement from Michael and his team keeps me abreast of the latest developments surrounding the RYM strategy.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
It has given me a vision that I can actually become debt-free within 10 years.
The use of a private FB group also helps reassure me that there are like-minded people out there.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
Do the math and you’ll find that it works out.
Everyone I’ve shared this strategy with who said it wouldn’t work, didn’t do the math. They just tried to ball-park the figures, which didn’t make sense to them; so they shot it down. Their loss.
Also, remember that the strategy requires financial discipline (i.e., a budget), positive cash-flow, and the ability to obtain a HELOC. Stick to those and it will all work out.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
We had a conventional 30-year mortgage with a starting balance of $525,000.
We really only had that for about 8 months before I saw RYM come across the weather channel app.
That’s when I dove in and read everything and couldn’t quit reading the free RYM ebook. I showed my wife and she was very skeptical, but she understood everything and how it worked.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
We found a bank that gave us a fixed rate of 4.25 for ten years. With our high balance we started with, that helped us out tremendously.
So now we are able to continue to use the strategies and not be so concerned with the interest rate increasing each month.
We currently owe $502,000 after switching banks in three months. We are on pace to pay our house off in less than 10 years.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
Is it really something to good to be true?
After reading everything in the free ebook, I discussed it with my wife and we both kind of felt that it does make sense.
I kept remembering Michael talk about the fact that it’s just math and that’s it. We analyze numbers for our family business, and I have always thought that way when I give my numbers and profit-and-loss statements to my brother in law. My numbers don’t lie. So I guess that’s what helped me understand how this whole strategy works. It’s just numbers and math.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
It’s definitely given us the desire to pay our house off early, and knowing that we have access to our hard-earned money is extremely satisfying.
The RYM strategy has also allowed us to talk to our children about it to help them understand how money and mortgages work.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
Do it. Don’t buy the banker a house, too. (RYM staff note: The interest on an average 30-year mortgage is like buying a second house.) Allow your hard earned money to work for you and not for the bank.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
We had a 30-year mortgage with a $384,000 balance.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
We have been using this strategy since February 2018. Our balance went down $30,000 the first month. After 8 months, we were able to also pay off $50,000 of debt.
We used the extra money available to us in our HELOC to pay off our vacation timeshare and start working on investing.
So, although our balance is not going down much right now, it will go down even faster with a few houses under our belt. Which we would not have been able to do without the RYM strategy.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
We were afraid it would not work. However, when the consultant showed us the math, it was easy to see it would.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
We know we will be able to retire with our house paid off and a little bit of passive income from the investments.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
If the numbers make sense (and they don’t always make sense for everyone), just do it. You will save money.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
Rental properties were due to be refinanced. I used the RYM strategy to pull one property out free and clear to use the equity via a line of credit to invest in an apartment complex and another startup.
On a case by case basis, I will be refinancing some or all of the other properties from mortgages into lines of credit if possible.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
I’ve used about 80% of the available HELOC balance for investments. Partly using rental income, I aggressively pay down the principal 2-3 times more each month than if it were financed as a mortgage. Still having access to equity I've built in the line of credit is comforting, so it's not like the money is “lost.”
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
Not knowing how to apply the RYM strategy to my commercial real estate investments. I wasn't able to fully implement it, but becoming aware of the possibility was worth the expense. I'm also curious about Infinite Banking and some of the other concepts mentioned in the training.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
I like being able to pay on debts faster and still have access to those funds, if need be.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
Do it!
Get more of your income working for you for more of the month and sooner, change your balance sheet and live better than you thought possible.
You owe it to yourself and your family to get your home paid off ASAP.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
We were midway through a Lease with Option to Purchase.
I was able to buy the townhome for $195,000, BUT the appraisal came in at over $280,000... with an immediate $95,000 increase in our equity.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
There were numerous obstacles, delays, etc because I had to first get a traditional mortgage (due to my lease option structure). I went with a local Savings & Loan and got a "REFI" loan of 3.5% with NO closing cost... and a very favorable $280,000+ appraisal.
Upon closing that loan, I then started working with two banks for the first position HELOC. Closed on the first-position HELOC (funded at $195,000) before my first mortgage was even invoiced.
We borrowed about another $8,000 (increased our HELOC to $203,000) to make some improvements (hardwood floors on the entire first level, paint, etc).
I just received our first invoice and was pleasantly surprised that our current HELOC balance is $186,400 (paid off additional $16,600).
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
Spending money on a maybe. But, after doing my due diligence... and making some calls to some banking friends... and praying not to make a "foolish" investment... and speaking numerous times with Randy... I made the payment.
The very act of doing that put me into "GO" mode, so I could implement the RYM strategy.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
The RYM program made a huge difference by forcing me to check out numerous banks and credit unions to get the best offer.
We are now very laser-focused on paying down the first-position HELOC within 3 to 5 years... but there is NO pressure because I now understand how it works... and THAT IT DOES WORK…
And, if we need some additional funds, we know that we have the flexibility to make that happen. Just made us aware of a "hack" that I never knew about... and it is accurate and does work.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
Sometimes and, really, quite often, I've learned that what we've been taught in school and life is often WRONG.
The financial institutions count on us being like sheep to go for a 30-year first mortgage. And then a 10-year second mortgage. And then, in about 5 to 7 years, refinance those loans into a new 30-year first mortgage and start the whole process again.
After I ran the numbers on my own, I could not disagree with the math. What a wakeup call.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
We had just purchased a home for about $255,000 about a year and a couple of months ago. However, we were researching how to more efficiently pay down a mortgage.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
We have paid down about $75,000 on our HELOC so far.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
We were a bit concerned about interest rates going through roof. However, we have always been quite impressed with Michael and the team. They are sincere, down to earth and quickly earned our trust and taught us a lot.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
It has definitely introduced us to many more opportunities and enabled us to invest and plan for the future.
Thanks to this program, we have a good thing going. We wouldn't dare lock our money up paying down on a traditional mortgage.
We have also started a whole life insurance to help us start our own bank (an advanced strategy taught in the course). We are feeling pretty secure and optimistic about the future.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
Don't be afraid to shop around for the right bank or credit union. Ensure they have the right tools and attributes RYM discusses to make this work.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
We started with $218,000 owed.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
After one month we reduced our HELOC balance from $218,000 to $211,000.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
Our biggest fear was the variable interest rate. After watching the videos and reading example posts from the Facebook community our consultant sent us, we were able to commit.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
RYM provided us with:
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
If you are a good candidate for the program, then try it! You can always get a mortgage if you don't like it.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
We sold our home in Texas that had a 20-year home-equity loan (recommended as a cash-out refinance after our remodel was finished) and moved to Utah.
When we found RYM we were renting, looking to invest the money we netted from our home sale. We had just learned about the line-of-credit chunk method from Renatus and began researching. We were also Dave Ramsey followers and had no debt, so we started looking to buy an investment home and pay it off using a HELOC.
A Renatus teacher said we should buy our own home first. Since we didn't have any mortgage, we thought doing a first lien with low closing costs would be cheaper. The cost of RYM Platinum was equivalent to mortgage closing costs, so we figured we had nothing to lose!
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
We have had a HELOC since the end of May 2018 for $486,000. Today, 4 months in, we owe $481,000, which is about equivalent to 7 months of payments on a 30-year amortized mortgage.
However, we owe about $5,000 on our offset credit cards. With waiting to the get auto-drafts set up, we haven't been able to do the paycheck parking strategy fully yet.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
We were worried about paying the membership and still having to get a mortgage with closing costs first.
Our bank ended up costing us about $4,000 with their delays and changing policies, so in the end RYM didn't save us money on closing costs.
However, the ongoing support working with banks to create better product servicing was unexpected.
We'll also certainly make our money back between our investment and primary homes over the years and enjoy convenient products that improve the savings.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
We would not have been able to afford the payments for our current house on a 30-year mortgage, even using all of our seller net as a down payment.
Now, with paycheck parking, we put 10% down and easily afford the payment. We invested the rest of the money into life insurance and real estate. We feel like we're finally able to be serious investors, being out of the mortgage and 401(k) rat race.
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
Just pay for it! It makes itself back many times over.
Most people we tell about RYM just want us to share the bank list, not understanding the other value of joining the group. Yet just saving the closing costs on one refinance are worth joining the group instead.
So far, they want to watch us first. They're still skittish, so we are sharing our statement summaries each month to show how it works despite the rocky slow start right now.
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
We had a 30-year mortgage with a balance of $375,600 for our home that is appraised at $480,000.
We bought our current home in May 2016 so we were less than 2 years into the mortgage.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
As of October 8, 2018, our HELOC balance is $308,900. In 8 months, we have reduced our principal balance by $66,700!
We closed on a first-lien HELOC on February 10, 2018 with Bank of America. The process was mostly smooth. We submitted our application a few days before Christmas 2017, so there was an initial slowdown during Christmas and the New Year’s holidays.
We have been using direct deposit from our paychecks to a checking account. Then, the money is moved immediately to the HELOC and most of our bills are paid through the HELOC. We also put the money in our savings account into the HELOC.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
The variable interest rate. My engineer husband was convinced it would not be in our favor to have a variable interest.
He wanted to prove this to me, so he ran the calculations and came to a surprising conclusion: the HELOC is a more favorable product than the mortgage.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
RYM has given me hope of freedom and also provides financial peace of mind. I am free from the ball and chain of the mortgage (death agreement), and I have peace of mind that I can access the cash I put in the HELOC in the event of an emergency.
Also, as I put money into the HELOC, I have enjoyed watching the reduction of the monthly required balance due.
In a previous mortgage, I paid extra principal to bring down the balance, but I could only put in money that I would not need to access. And then I had to wait to sell the home to get access to that money.
Being part of RYM has been one of the highlights of 2018 for us! Thank you and God bless you guys!
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
Go for it!
What was your mortgage situation prior to starting with Replace Your Mortgage?
We had a $561,000 30-year mortgage at 3.125%.
What is the current status of your HELOC and how many months did it take you to achieve it?
We closed on our HELOC in May 2017 at a rate of 4.93%. After 18 months, our balance is $478,000.
I am a commissionable Account Exec. so I take all income including all commissions and have it directly deposited into the HELOC.
That said, we spent $85,000 to finish our house’s lower level from February 1, 2018 through September 15, 2018. We took withdrawals out of the HELOC to pay the contractors, so the principal reduction is likely more than the $83,000 the statements show.
Now that the lower level is finished, I recalculated the payoff date. We are set for a 52-month payoff! I cannot think of another way that could have us in this great situation.
What was your biggest concern when deciding to join RYM?
My biggest fear was going from a 3.1% mortgage to a 4.93% variable interest rate. Yes, there was also a "too good to be true" factor as well.
How has using the RYM strategy changed your life?
We are no longer worried about retirement…
If I pay my home off in 5 years from now, it will allow me to retire way earlier than we first thought. My home has appraised at $850,000. So, if the market has not crashed (I know, a big if) I can sell it and literally add $800,000 to my retirement portfolio.
That will change our lives!
What advice would you give to a homeowner considering trying the RYM strategy?
Do not wait. Get your HELOC today! Do not worry about the rising interest rates. All the income you put in completely offsets that!
Are you looking at refinancing your mortgage?
Are you thinking it’s the best way to pay off your home faster?
Would you consider another option if it’s just as easy and saves you $10,000+ in interest?
Turns out, there’s a rarely discussed strategy to pay off your home in 5-7 years on average without any extra income.
I know that sounds too good to be true.
It sure did to me at first — especially as a mortgage banker for years.
So let’s dig into 3 key reasons this little-known option works and why you haven’t heard about it, even though it’s common in Australia and the UK...
You often have to pay thousands of dollars in penalties or sell your home to get your money! That’s terrible if your truck’s transmission suddenly breaks or your kid’s tooth cracks.
With the method I’m talking about, you just put your money in like you would with any other checking account. You can live your life knowing you can take your money out anytime you want.
Even better, every dollar you put in directly pays down the principal you owe. Which also slashes the interest you owe, letting you pay off your home far faster.
(As you’ve probably seen on your monthly statements, mortgages siphon off most of your payments early on into interest charges. It’s disgusting.)
The technique I’m talking about only charges you interest once each day, based on how much principal you owe.
No interest stacking up like a Tetris game gone out of control.
Refinancing into another mortgage keeps you stuck in compounding interest slavery for years longer than needed.
And since you’re under contract to send in those higher amounts like clockwork, you’re at risk of the bank seizing your home (foreclosure) if you miss a few.
Using this alternative technique, you can pay off your home much faster without any extra income because you’re paying so much less interest. It’s math, not magic.
So, I bet you’re wondering...
Simple...
The banks make a fortune on mortgages vs. hardly anything on the approach I’m talking about.
With the average 30-year mortgage, you’re buying your home, plus one for your banker. The the math never lies.
That’s why I also put my own money where my mouth is… I ditched my mortgage and refinanced my home this smarter way.
(I did it with only 10% equity, and it can be done with even less.)
I’ve now helped thousands of others do the same, paying off their homes in 5-7 years on average without any extra income.
To give you a one-stop step-by-step guide to clarify whether this rarely-shared strategy is right for you, download my free ebook here.
Almost 10,000 Americans are downloading it every month. For your family’s future, I recommend you do the same.
Take care and God bless.
Does paying your mortgage every month cause you stress?
Do you ever look at your statement and think, "How could I possibly still owe that much after all this time?"
Would you be excited to pay off your home off in 5-7 years... without having to make any more money?
Good news... Financial technology now makes that entirely possible.
That said, I bet you’re probably thinking what everyone else does:
"That sounds too good to be true!" (Or, more bluntly, “I’m calling B@#@$!%!”)
I get it because that’s exactly what I said when a mentor first told me about this strategy.
But, after a great deal of research, I found out that it really is possible...but instead of explaining all of the banking jargon, let me use something we’re all more familiar with to explain why.
Music players got so much better over the decades, from vinyl records to cassettes to CD’s, right? Sound quality improved and CD’s lasted way longer than vinyl or cassettes.
Despite all of the improvements in both size and quality, every one of these tools (vinyls, cassettes, CD's) were still handicapped by one MAJOR limitation:
They could only hold a finite amount of songs on each vinyl / cassette / CD.
That meant you had to continually head to the store to find the record / tape / disc, pull out your wallet, and swap it out whenever the mood hit you to listen to the flavor of the week.
But that all changed in 2001.
Steve Jobs and his team at Apple debuted the iPod™, a device that could hold your entire music collection (thousands of songs) in your pocket.
It didn’t look much different from the Walkman™...but it played by an entirely different set of rules which allowed you to achieve results you wouldn’t have thought were possible the day before.
That’s the EXACT same scenario you’re in right now.
Your mortgage is like that old Walkman™ in the fact that it’s stuck with a set of limitations that make you believe it’ll take you 15-30 years to pay off your home...and when I tell you that it’s possible to pay it off in 5-7 years at your current level of income, you think I’m blowing smoke.
But I’m not...
I’m talking about a financial technology that plays by a different set of rules (like the iPod™), and has the power to make the traditional mortgage obsolete.
To be clear, I'm NOT saying replacing your mortgage is the right move for you. (It works great for people with certain financial situations...but it’s not right for everyone).
What I AM saying you could end up throwing away tens or HUNDREDS of thousands of dollars in wasted mortgage interest payments if you don’t investigate further.
There isn’t enough space to dig into all the details here, so...
To give you a one-stop step-by-step guide to clarify whether the financial technology my mentor taught me about is right for you, I created a free ebook you can download here.
Almost 10,000 Americans are downloading it every month. For your family’s future, I recommend you do the same.
"According to Forbes, a massive amount of homeowners are taking advantage of this "bank pay-off" secret because of this rising interest rate environment."
Homeowners are tired of not seeing their balance go down on their 30 year mortgages. The cost of living is going up. Families are strained because the breadwinner is having to work more just to make ends meet.
With all those pressing problems, it's no wonder homeowners are now turning to using a HELOC to pay a staggeringly less amount of mortgage interest than they would with their 30 year mortgage. However, despite homeowners refinancing in groves, there are some homeowners who are unaware of this "bank pay-off' secret says HELOC expert Michael Lush.
"I get asked that a lot about HELOC's as well as sounding too good to be true. You pay less interest because the interest is charged on the average monthly balance and the money can move in and out of the account freely. People think there has to be a catch, right? There isn't a catch. It's math, not magic" says Michael Lush.
In fact, successful businesses use similar lines of credit to run their business and pay less interest. Also, during the great recession, a study was done that showed homeowners who had a HELOC instead of a mortgage were 115 times less likely to go into foreclosure. Bottom line, using a HELOC is a much more effective way to pay off a home faster and allow homeowners to build wealth for those with 10% equity and a positive monthly cash flow.
There are some misconceptions out in the marketplace simply because banks make less money on HELOC's than with mortgages and do not educate the borrowers like they should. For example, many mistakingly believe that a fixed rate mortgage is better than a variable rate heloc. However, rates on these lines of credit are lower than fixed rates mortgages usually according to Forbes magazine. One key benefit to using a HELOC is the option of getting an interest only HELOC so there is more cash flow each month and anything extra will go right to principal. This money can flow in an out of the account when needed.
Unfortunately, many homeowners who could actually benefit from a HELOC, don't bother to gather the correct information due to rumors they have heard. It's sad because HELOC's are now allowing the middle class to pass off their biggest debt faster build wealth when they never thought they would.
If you're a homeowner with 10% equity or more in your home along with a positive monthly cash flow, you owe it to yourself to learn more. Join the countless others who are benefiting financially but never thought they would. You may be pleasantly surprised by what you discover.
