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?
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 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?
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 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?
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?
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?
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 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!
Elliot Hallum, a Williamson county realtor, used to be the guy slaving away to pay off his mortgage (like most people) with dreams to own some investment properties; now he has access to cash for those promising real estate deals.
No, he didn’t win the lottery or increase his income, he simply learned how to better use his current assets to FIGHT INTEREST and pay off his principle more quickly.
Let’s take a look at what changed for Elliot:
The Big “Death Pledge” Problem:
Elliot Hallum used to be an average guy with a standard 30-year mortgage, working himself to the bone to pay it off.
Unfortunately, this debt that hundreds of millions of Americans have to incur was keeping Elliot from pursuing his true passion:
Elliot always had a knack for finding killer real estate deals...trouble was, he never had the liquidity to capitalize on them HIMSELF. He always had to pass the opportunity along to “the guys with the big bucks.”
This really bothered Elliot. He studied the numbers and knew his income wasn’t the problem...it was his MORTGAGE:
The reason banks say these are “the norm” is because they make a TON of money from mortgages...that’s why they push them so hard.
Luckily, Elliot decided to investigate other options...and that’s when he learned about Home Equity Lines Of Credit (HELOCs for short)
The Solution:
A HELOC is a less-well known type of financial product that allows you to utilize the full amount of your assets to FIGHT INTEREST and pay off larger chunks of your home’s principle QUICKLY.
It’s what the wealthy have been using for YEARS and the tool Elliot used to shorten his payoff period from 27 years.
So why haven’t you heard of them?
Because banks don’t make money from them. Banks are in the business of making money so they sell the most profitable product...which results in you paying nearly twice the value of your home.
They neglect to mention the products that are best for YOU, and that’s why we created Replace Your Mortgage.
In fact, here is a video of Elliot talking about the transition and his succes story.
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Who We Are:
Hi there, I’m Michael Lush and I’m a recovering mortgage broker who spent 15 years pushing standard mortgages.
I say “recovering” because three years ago I stumbled across HELOCs and, after going through the process myself, started teaching others like Elliot how to use HELOCs to pay off their homes in 5-7 years.
Since then, my partner David and I have helped over 525 people navigate the HELOC process and accelerate their payoff period.
How We Can Help:
Most people are skeptical when first hearing about us because "it's not what everyone else is doing."
Elliot was the same way and that’s why we told him to start small: We told him to get a copy of our FREE ebook to learn more about how the process works.
Once he saw that what we talk about is MATH, NOT MAGIC, he decided to make the leap.
Now he can use all of the money that would have gone towards interest payments on a standard mortgage to doing the things he really wants...like investing in HIS OWN REAL ESTATE DEALS:
“Right now, I'm maintaining a sizable amount of liquidity in the HELOC so that when a great opportunity arises I can pay cash and close quickly.
I'm not limited to properties that can get financing. That gives me an advantage over other investors.”
So if you're serious about finding a way to acquire more real estate investment deals (and not lining a bank's pockets by paying interest on your mortgage), subscribe below to get your free copy of our ebook.
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Congrats to Greg Michne and his wife Stacey who cut $25k off his mortgage in just 9 short months while still finding time to make maple syrup as a hobby.
Yeah, the dude makes his own maple syrup!
No, he didn’t win the lottery or increase his income, he simply learned how to better use his current assets to FIGHT INTEREST and pay off his principle more quickly.
But before I jump in on HOW Greg did this, let’s take a look at Greg’s background so you can see he isn’t some superhero or statistical anomaly.
Like many, Greg and his wife Stacey had a lot of student loan debt so the burden of more debt for a mortgage was a double whammy.
To make matters worse, the unending tunnel of payments made it all the more obvious that Greg would struggle to fulfill his dreams of investing in real estate.
His dreams weren’t to buy Ferraris or jetset around the world, he simply wanted to construct his own destiny and not owe anyone else money.
“My wife and I as a family we just want to be free and have a healthy financial future.”
But it wasn’t Greg and Stacey’s lifestyle that was preventing them from being financially free, it was their mortgage.
See, the standard mortgage most Americans utilize when buying a house are front-loaded with LOTS of interest.
The average mortgage has the majority of your payment going to interest until about year 18:
Banks push this product because “it’s what everyone does”…AND because it makes them a TON of money.
Greg was just another American who had signed his “death pledge” (the literal translation for the word ‘mortgage’) and would be paying off his home for the next 30 or so years.
But that’s when he learned about a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC for short).
A HELOC is a less-well known type of financial product that allows you to utilize the full amount of your assets to FIGHT INTEREST and pay off larger chunks of your home’s principle QUICKLY.
So rather than eating away at the principle little by little, you can make a major dent in your debt rapidly without having to make an additional cent of income.
HELOCs take the power of compounding out of the hands of the banks (who earn compound interest on your mortgage) and put it into YOUR hands in order to shorten your payoff period.
Greg and Stacey shortened their payoff period from 27 years to 58 months (just shy of 5 years)…and saved $285/month because they didn’t have to pay PMI.
Now they can use all of the money that would have gone towards interest payments on a standard mortgage to doing the things they really want…like investing in more real estate.
The key to YOU getting the same type of results is learning about the math and understanding what it takes to be successful utilizing a HELOC…and that’s EXACTLY why we created Replace Your Mortgage.
We were tired of seeing people like Greg & Stacey fall victims to the “Interest Heavy” jaws of the standard mortgage, so we created a business that teaches them how to successfully utilize a HELOC to move their debt-free date up years (if not decades).
So if you’d like to spend your money on things you actually care about (instead of loan interest), click on the link below to start educating yourself.
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Dave Ramsey is great but does he have it wrong on home equity loans? Should you pay cash for a home even if you can? We talk about it here. Hey - Do you agree with me? Disagree and think I am way off base?
Hey, folks. This is Michael Lush. Recently came across an article where Dave Ramsey's talking about a home equity loan. Quite frankly, I don't disagree but I think there was a miscommunication there because he's giving his listeners information regarding a home equity loan and most of those listeners are thinking that pertains to a home equity line of credit.
Again, they're two separate things. Dave's talking about folks using a home equity loan to pay off debt or payoff credit card debt which creates bad habits. They already had bad habits. All they're doing is taking out more debt to pay off that debt and they still have the credit cards and they still rack up more credit cards.
Again, I don't disagree with him. I have the most utmost respect for Dave Ramsey, son of a Christian. Dave Ramsey misses the mark on a couple concepts. Again, he's focusing on a home equity loan. That's an entirely different product of what we talked about.
A home equity loan is extra debt on top of your mortgage. What we teach is using a home equity line of credit to replace your mortgage. I would not encourage you to get a home equity loan but I would encourage you to get a home equity line of credit to pay off that mortgage.
What's more risky? To have a 30-year mortgage where you buy your house and one of the bank or have a home equity line of credit where you pay it off in 5 to 7 years? Let's take an example of a 250,000 mortgage at 4.25%.
If you finance that on a 30-year mortgage, you're actually going to pay $206,000 of interest. You're actually going to pay $456,000 for that $250,000 house. Now, if you got to ask yourself, at what point is my $250,000 house going to be worth $456,000? The most common answer is a long time, if ever.
Is it worth it? We have to change our mindset to look at the total cost of a home versus just the purchase price because the purchase price does not dictate the total cost of a home if you're financing it.
Instead, if you're going to take that same $250,000, use the cash flow strategies that I teach, you're going to actually get it paid off in 5 to 7 years, instead of paying $205,000 of interest, you're going to pay $53,000. Again, it actually takes less discipline to do it my way than it does to segregate your money and make separate payments to your mortgage over 30 years.
Again, if you like this video, be sure to comment below. Whether you agree or disagree with me, it doesn't matter. I'd like for you to comment below and let's debate this. Again, subscribe to our channel so you get more videos. Take care. God bless. Thanks for watching the video.
So you have decided to pay off your home faster so you are not burdened by your biggest debt. Awesome! Congrats on your decision. So which option works best? You could do bi-weekly payments. you could make extra payments. You could even switch home loans to a HELOC. Which one will work best for you? Our latest video will show you.
Hey folks. Michael Lush. I recently got a question of what different ways are there to pay off a mortgage fast? There's actually four. One of the ways is actually about reducing your terms. Let's say you have a 30-year mortgage term.
If you do the Dave Ramsey method you could actually take a 10-year mortgage. Here's the issue with that. You're going to have a lot less flexibility because on a 10-year mortgage the payment is going to be substantially higher than it would be on a 30-year mortgage, but you'll no doubt be forced to pay it off in 10 years.
Now, there's no flexibility again, so if at the end of the month things are getting tight, guess what? You are under contract to make that 10-year mortgage payment. This requires quite a bit of discipline.
Another form is actually making extra payments. You've got a 30-year mortgage and you've got some residual income, throw some extra money towards your mortgage at the end of each month. Another common way is biweekly payments. A lot of banks and services will actually charge you money to give you the information I'm about to give you for free, how to set up biweekly payments.
When you refinance into a mortgage, which I don't suggest you do, but I'll get to that later, but if you were to refinance into a mortgage how you set up biweekly payments is you've got a payment deferral of either 1 month or 2 months. Everyone's guaranteed at least a 1-month payment deferral.
Before you make your first payment you know who you need to make it to, so go ahead and make a full payment ahead of time, and then when it's actually due take your mortgage payment, cut it in half and then pay that every 2 weeks.
You basically just set up your own biweekly payment plan. On a 30-year mortgage, paying biweekly can accelerate the payoff by 5 to 7 years, meaning you'll take a 30-year mortgage down to 25 or 23. That's pretty good. That's a lot of savings when doing biweekly.
Here's something that's way better. Actually refinance the entire mortgage into a home equity line of credit. Let's say you take out a $300,000 mortgage on a 30-year term at an average interest rate let's say 4.25. The payment is going to be roughly $1475 per month, principal and interest, excluding taxes and insurance. What if we were to take that same $300,000, put it onto a home equity line of credit and actually not pay more, not pay less, but pay the same, $1475? This kind of gives us our baseline barometer of what's better, what actually computes faster?
Wouldn't you know it that a home equity line of credit will actually be paid off in 24-1/2 years paying $1475 for the exact same terms as a mortgage, so as you can see, it's faster. What we teach, again, is don't just make a payment to it. Treat it like it's your checking account, so put all of your money into it and pull money out as you need it for expenses, because if you make more money than you spend, you're actually treating your home equity line of credit like a savings account.
That is going to accelerate it, again, on average, paying it off in 5 to 7 years. It's really that simple.
