WORDS I LIKE — Easy choices aren’t always smart.
No mortgage payment.
No lender. No interest. No debt.
Most people would call that winning.
Twenty-seven percent of Denver homeowners are there right now — the highest share on record.
Nobody’s asking the next question.
The piece nobody talks about.
When you own your home free and clear, your equity is real. But it’s also locked up. You can’t spend it, invest it, or move it without either selling the house or borrowing against it. That’s what it means to be illiquid.
That 27% share is up from 21% in 2010. Rates are elevated, refis have slowed, and more homeowners are eyeing accelerated payoff as the smart play. It makes sense on the surface.
Here’s where the thinking often stops too soon. Paying off your mortgage eliminates a liability. But it also concentrates a large amount of wealth in one place — a single asset you can’t easily access. That’s not wrong. But it’s not automatically right either.
Financial advisors and CPAs who work with homeowners are already having this conversation. Not because debt is good — but because equity that isn’t working is a missed opportunity with a real cost.
The goal isn’t to carry a mortgage forever. The goal is to know what your equity is doing. And whether it’s the answer to a question you’ve actually asked.
THIS WEEK'S TAKEAWAY
Owning free and clear is a fine destination. Getting there without a plan for your equity isn’t.
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PS
If your home is your biggest asset, reply with “equity” — I can tell you what questions are worth asking.
No spam. No sales pitches. Just clarity.
— Neil Christiansen, Certified Mortgage Advisor
