🧠 University Bank’s Smart HELOC — The Ultimate First Lien Mortgage Alternative
Welcome to the future of home financing. If you're looking to pay off your home faster, lower your interest costs, and gain true financial flexibility, University Bank’s First Lien HELOC may be the solution you've been searching for.
Below are the most commonly asked questions — and honest answers — about why our HELOC product has become a client favorite for wealth builders, financial strategists, and smart homeowners nationwide.
🔹 What exactly is a First Lien HELOC?
A First Lien HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit) is a revolving line of credit that sits in first position on your home — meaning it replaces your traditional mortgage entirely. Instead of borrowing a lump sum and repaying over 15–30 years like a traditional mortgage, a First Lien HELOC allows you to:
- Borrow and repay flexibly
- Deposit your income directly into the loan
- Use your available equity as needed
- Dramatically reduce interest through cash flow strategies
It becomes your primary financial hub, combining checking, savings, and mortgage into one powerful tool.
🔹 How is the University Bank HELOC different from others?
University Bank’s HELOC isn’t just another loan — it’s strategically engineered to help you win. Here’s what sets it apart:
✅ High Loan-to-Value (LTV)
Borrow up to 89.9% of your home’s value — more than most lenders allow. Why 89.9%? Because staying just under 90% puts your loan in a lower risk bucket, which results in a lower interest rate for you.
✅ Smarter Interest Index
Rather than being tied to the Prime Rate like most HELOCs, ours is tied to the 6-month U.S. Treasury Bill (T-Bill) — a historically more stable and less volatile index. This means your rate moves with a steadier hand, not in lockstep with sudden Fed decisions.
✅ Two Promotional Rate Options
Choose a 6-month or 12-month promotional interest rate depending on your financial goals. The shorter option typically has a lower rate, while the 12-month option gives you a longer runway.
✅ Built-in Grace During Hard Times
Can’t make your payment this month? No problem — if you have equity available, University Bank will auto-pay the interest on your behalf by drawing from your line. This is an incredibly helpful safeguard during unexpected income loss, job changes, or emergencies.
🔹 What automation tools does this HELOC come with?
University Bank’s Smart HELOC is built for automation and simplicity, not complexity. Here’s what you get:
- Direct Deposit Ready: Send your paycheck straight into the HELOC to immediately reduce your balance and interest.
- Bill Pay Built-In: No need to link to external checking accounts — you pay bills directly from your HELOC.
- Daily Sweep Feature: At midnight each day, funds in your University checking account are automatically swept into the HELOC to work for you.
- Integrated Credit Card Access: Use your HELOC with an attached credit card for purchases and expenses. It’s not a debit card — which helps prevent fraud from draining your available equity.
🔹 Why do existing clients love this product?
Our clients consistently rave about:
- 💡 Control — They decide how and when to use their equity
- 🕒 Speed — Many pay off their homes in under 5–7 years
- 🔄 Flexibility — Use it like a checking account, but smarter
- 🤝 Support — You’re connected with bankers who understand your strategy
- 📈 Wealth Building — They use the freed-up equity for investing, scaling businesses, or paying off high-interest debt
🔹 Is this available in every state?
Not yet — but it’s getting close. The HELOC is currently available in 33 states, and that number is growing. Ask your Client Success Manager or check your dashboard to see if your state is on the approved list.
🔹 Will the bankers I speak with understand this strategy?
Yes — and that’s a huge advantage. University Bank has a specialized team that not only understands the Replace Your Mortgage strategy, but helped build this product specifically for it.
You’ll be connected to experienced experts like:
- Terry Frazier
- Chris Payne
- ...and others from the dedicated HELOC department
No need to re-explain the strategy or worry about being misunderstood — they get it, and they’re here to help.
🔹 Is this HELOC for everyone?
No. Like the Replace Your Mortgage strategy, this HELOC isn’t one-size-fits-all. It works best if you:
- Have a credit score of 640+
- Have positive monthly cash flow
- Want to eliminate your mortgage faster
- Value financial control and liquidity
If that’s you — then this may be the most powerful financial decision you make.
🔹 Why is this HELOC safer than a traditional mortgage?
Aside from the flexible structure and built-in safeguards, the HELOC gives you access to equity, which a mortgage does not. You’re not locked in — you’re liquid and mobile. That’s a game-changer for anyone who’s financially strategic.
Plus, because it's not amortized like a mortgage, you're not front-loading interest payments for years before you touch the principal. More of your money goes toward your benefit, not the bank’s.
🔹 What should I do next?
Book your discovery call with University Bank today. Whether you’re ready to move forward or just want to get questions answered, this step is risk-free — and extremely valuable.
You can schedule using your Client Success Manager or go to rym.replaceyouruniversity.com/university
👇 Still have questions?
No problem — your Client Success Manager can answer most questions. Ask anything, anytime.
This is your chance to replace your mortgage with something smarter. Take the next step and explore how University Bank’s First Lien HELOC could help you reach financial freedom faster.
More about University Bank's HELOC
So the University Bank, home of the smart loan, is specifically a first lien position home equity line of credit. So I wanna stop right there and just explain that this is only a first lien position home equity line of credit. It cannot be used in second lien position. But it is one of my favorite if not my favorite home equity line of credit products. Now I'm a bit biased.
I sit on the board of the bank. I'm a part of a joint venture with that bank along with another business partner and I helped structure this product. So again I'm biased but let me explain why I'm such a big fan of this home equity line of credit products. First and foremost, one it'll go up to 89.9% loan to value. I know that's weird why wouldn't it be 90%?
It's because as soon as you're just a hair under 90% loan to value, you actually get a lower risk tolerance bucket, which allows us to reduce the rates on that home equity line of credit versus somebody else that's at 90 plus percent loan to value. So it's only point 1% of the equity of your home that you're missing out on but it gives you other benefits. The other thing is it's tied to the six month T bill. So it is not tied to prime. So when you hear about interest rates on HELOCs or credit cards, what do you hear about?
You hear about prime rate. Prime rate doing this and that. So whenever the Fed is talking and adjusting prime rate, they are adjusting prime rate only. So it doesn't impact when if the Fed were to increase or decrease the the prime rate or the federal funds rate, it doesn't directly impact the six month T bill. However, you will see a a pretty similar correlation between the six month T bill to the prime rate. However, it's an index that is historically shown to be less volatile. So that's another reason why I like it. So again it's the six month T bill. Some other benefits about the the home equity line of credit are they have two types of promo rates. They got a twelve month promo rate and they also have a six month promo rate.
Now obviously the shorter promo rate is going to have a lower rate than the one year promo rate but at least you have two options. Some other benefits are let's say you didn't have enough money that month for whatever reason things hit the fan this is one of the things I like about it the most is you know you have COVID or just any other economic impact that you may have where you've got a loss of income. If you can't make the minimum payment which the minimum payment is just an interest only payment if you can't make that minimum payment but you have equity on your line don't worry about it. They'll just take it from the equity of your home equity line of credit and make the payment for you. Not ideal because the balance increases but there's nothing you have to do.
Even if you were to forget, they make the payment on your behalf.
So it's really, really hard to be, reported late because it's really, really hard to make a late payment because they'll just use the equity on the line to pay itself. So this has been really helpful for folks especially during COVID when they had income elimination and you know needed some grace period in order to get by they could just utilize the Home Equity Line of Credit to cannibalize itself. Again not ideal but it is there for a saving grace should you need it. Another thing that's unique about this Home Equity Line of Credit versus the other ones it's got complete automation.
So when we talk about automating money going in and automating money coming out just like you would in a checking account when it comes to bill paying and all that This does it for you. You set it up once and you're done. You don't have to use other banking tools in order to automate the feature of money going into the right place at the right time or money going out to pay your bills and expenses. So you will get a credit card associated with it. Some folks may refer to it as a debit card it is not.
It's technically a credit card associated with your home equity line of credit. You want it to be a credit card not a debit card because should that be compromised you don't want whoever has access to it to have access to hundreds of thousands of dollars. So it's a credit card that is associated with your home equity line of credit. You have direct online bill pay with your home equity line of credit. So other banks, you will have online bill pay but it's online bill pay to a checking account and your HELOC has to be the overdraft feature for that checking account.
This one is tied directly to your home equity line of credit. And again, your income can go directly in there because this bank has set up an automatic sweep feature so that at midnight of every night anything that is in your checking account with University Bank is automatically swept into the home equity line of credit. So again, you have complete automation. What we teach, this product was designed specifically for the strategy and so that's why I think it's one of the better products on the market. It is not for everybody, just like our strategy is not for everybody, but everyone in this group, this is a really good product.
I'm not saying it's the best one for you. You have to make that decision for yourself but as we've looked around the market when it we're comparing costs, guidelines, interest rates, features, this one runs the gamut. Also this home equity line of credit is not entirely nationwide just yet but most of the states. Right now it's in 33 states and that is constantly being updated. At some point it will be available in the 48 contiguous states of The United States but right now they are in 33 states so be sure to check this dashboard for the states to see if your state is one that they will lend in.
Another important feature about this home equity line of credit is not the home equity line of credit itself it's actually the people that design these. So the University Bank has a specific department that only specializes in this product and those bankers understand our strategy, the RWAM strategy. So that is Terry Frazier, Chris Payne and some of the folks that work at that branch. They understand the strategy so that when you call them and you're asking for this specific product they understand not only just the product but also the strategy that complements the product as well. So I know it's frustrating talking to random banks and talking to bankers that have never understood this before. You will not have that issue with University Bank.
