Just a few months ago, my husband and I were like many others stuck in the “renter’s forever” stage of life. A 2024 report from the National Association of Home Builders found that 52% of Millennials struggle to save enough for a down payment, often delaying homeownership. We were definitely part of that group.
Buying our first home felt like a distant dream, especially with California’s high cost of living eating up our savings. So how did we finally get off the renter’s hamster wheel and into our first house? I work at Figure (aka the HELOC experts.) After spending years writing about home equity, it hit me: a HELOC could be the key not just to owning a home, but also to achieving our long-term financial goals after we bought one.
The Home Purchase Plan
My husband, with his nine years in the mortgage industry, and I, with my three, thought we had it all figured out. We’d been saving for a house slowly but surely, figuring we’d be able to buy something by 2025. It wasn’t going to be fast, but it was progress.
Then, one day, while writing yet another article about debt management, a lightbulb went on. What if we just paid the minimum on our credit cards for a few months instead of aggressively paying them down, and used that savings towards a down payment? Our debt-to-income ratio (DTI) would still be solid. That could speed things up, right?
My husband, who knows his way around mortgage math, ran the numbers, and voilà! Turns out, this strategy shaved a whole year off our home-buying timeline. We were in the game sooner than we thought.
The Secret Weapon for Managing Moving Costs and Debt
Once we were officially homeowners, the real fun started. Moving costs, breaking our lease early, credit card debt, and some unexpected house expenses all popped up (because, of course.)
Luckily, within just a few months, our home equity had jumped by more than 8%. That’s when the real golden ticket came into play—a HELOC from Figure. After three months of homeownership4navigates to numbered disclaimer, we’re able to tap into our equity and use Figure’s Intellidebt feature. This basically helped us map out our debt reduction strategy like pros. It gave us a clear view of all our debts so we could pinpoint exactly where to focus, and how much equity we could tap into. Here’s how we planned to use our home equity:
Covering Moving Expenses – Moving isn’t cheap, and the last thing we wanted was to drain our savings to cover the cost of movers, storage units, or last-minute logistics. We decided to use our home equity to cover these costs after the move, keeping our emergency fund intact.
Breaking the Lease Early – Moving into our new home before our rental lease ended meant facing a hefty fee. Instead of scrambling to pay it up front, we plan to use our home equity to cover it once we’re settled.
Handling Unexpected Home Expenses – Homeownership always comes with surprises, some of which we’ve already encountered. We’re planning to use our equity to cover any unplanned repairs or upgrades that come along (goodbye, leaky roof!) without feeling financially overwhelmed.
Consolidating Credit Card Debt – As you can see, we’ve built up some credit card debt during the home-buying process, but we’re not stressing about it. With Figure’s Intellidebt tool, we’ll be able to pay off those balances in one shot, and the best part? It’ll be at a lower interest rate than those credit cards.
Why You Might Want to Consider a HELOC
Here’s the thing: if you’re in the process of buying a home or already own one and need to get a handle on debt, a Figure HELOC could be your best friend. And with Intellidebt, it’s even easier to see the big picture. It gave us the flexibility and insight we needed to handle everything life threw at us without derailing our finances.
Whether you’re consolidating debt, dealing with moving costs, or just trying to get ahead, using your home equity with a tool like Intellidebt could make all the difference.
