Harj Gill demystifies Mortgage Acceleration with his Speed Equity® System
Is Mortgage Acceleration for Real? And For You?
If you could pay off your mortgage more quickly and save thousands in interest, would that get your attention? It got mine. It started when I sat in on what turned out to be a multi-level marketing presentation that promised these things could happen when you bought their $3,500 web-based software. That made me suspicious, because I know that mortgage acceleration relies on mathematical principles and financial discipline, not magic software.
Using what I learned from that infomar I did some research and found www.SpeedEquity.com founded by Mr. Harj Gill. He came up with the mathematical and banking principles to allow mortgage acceleration without having to refinance your 30 year mortgage, changing to bi-weekly payments, or even changing your spending habits. He developed the program in Australia based on principles that are sound but not generally known and understood. If the user has financial discipline, he or she can cut years off a mortgage and save thousands in interest. Harj answers most frequently asked questions here.
Gill is a consumer advocate crusading against the companies that are promoting $3,500 software and high cost consulting for what people can do on their own. His influence has spread from Australia to Great Britain, Europe, Canada, and lately the U.S.
After some research and exchanging emails with Harj Gill, I decided to go to his seminar in Las Vegas on July 6 where I joined what looked like 800 to 1,000 other people at the Luxor Hotel. It was astounding. The local TV station, KVBC, did a story about a company which sells a similar software for $3,500.00, and with the help of Nick DiArchangel (producer of “Saving you Money”) and reporter Jim Snyder, the spotlight was put on Harj and his program.
It is bewildering that this story has not spilled over to the Greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area and it is amazing that the local media has not picked up on this story yet. The only thing I could find about mortgage acceleration in the local media was this article in the Arizona Republic. Ironically this was published the day prior to Harj Gill’s event a the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas.
The bottom line is that Harj Gill’s book explaining the system, Own Your Home Years Sooner!, will be out soon with a price tag of $24.99, and the web-based software has an equally low annual fee. That sure beats $3,500! Or, you could get a Ph.D. in mathematics and create your own spreadsheet.
Speed Equity® seems like something that could help a lot of people get out of debt sooner.
Mortgage acceleration can be part of a financial plan and is one of many strategies. There are other strategies which call to maximize all available home equity, extract it, and to re-invest it in other investment-vehicles. So naturally there are pros and cons of paying off your mortgage sooner, but ultimately it depends on each individuals goals
The concept of Arbitrage is not something new but before you jump on paying off your mortgage sooner or extracting every bit of equity you have to re-invest in another investment vehicle, you should consult with a financial planner, mortgage planner, investment consultant and/or a CPA to weigh out all your options.
The majority of middle class Americans do not have much savings, not to mention a financial plan; and a 401K is just something what an employer offers and the fellow co-worker has. So it is time for everybody to wake up and educate themselves… At the end of the day it is always better to have a plan rather than having no plan at all.
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Christoph Schweiger is a 34-year-old real estate agent living with his wife and son in sunny Scottsdale, Arizona ... 
Gary Miljour on Jul 25, 2007
Christoph,
Great Blog,
I am glad that you are out there informing the public about this service and how to avoid the $3,500.00 fee.
Shailesh on Jul 25, 2007
Hey Christoph,
I never got back to you on this topic. I’m doing some research since I’ve been asked by a few people. When shall we connect?
Thanks,
Shailesh
Rita Bradley on Jul 31, 2007
Will this product be available for re-sellers to sell online?
chris butterworth on Aug 1, 2007
Hi Christoph,
Great topic. I had the same reaction as you when I heard about this program. I ended up doing a bunch of research, talking & emailing to a couple of loan officers who specialize in it, and then writing about it.
I think this program provides a tool for someone to use to their advantage, but it is no different from what any homeowner could do on their own. It basically requires you to not access any of your savings, because your savings is being counted towards your mortgage balance. Well, if you wanted to never access your savings, you could just as easily pre-pay your mortgage, and have the same effect…
Here’s what I wrote:
Paying off Early
and
Paying off Early - upon further review
-Chris
ps - I’ve never used html links in a comment before - tell me if I’m out of line. Thanks.
Louisville Real Estate on Aug 3, 2007
This looks like a fascinating idea. I’m sure there are lots of homeowners out there who will be warm to the idea of taking years off their mortgages!
Mark Bustamonte on Aug 4, 2007
WOW! 24.95 to learn how to perform mortgage acceleration! What an awesome deal. It reminds me of an old saying my dad use to use, if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. If you are interested in implementing a mortgage elimination plan after researching several companies and 24.99 books, i have found Financial Freedom International Inc. They provide a financial coach to work with you for 1 year to make sure that you understand the HELOC strategy which can be used for more then just mortgage elimination. If you are an investor or make short term investments why not use the banks money via a HELOC for close to zero interest? Anyway if you want more information on this progam visit http://www.tristarconsultinggroupllc.info
Christoph on Aug 5, 2007
Thank you all for your comments on this topic.
Gary, yes $3,500 is a lot of money for information and access to a web based software and this reason was my inspiration to blog about this topic.
Shailesh, lets get together on this. I would like to know your opinion on Accelerated Mortgage Pay-off versus “Missed Fortune”.
Rita, I believe that Harj Gill will offer an Affiliate Program for the Speedequity® system.
Chris, here is a link (http://216.10.77.146/1-Flash/Promo.html) to a presentation which illustrates the concept in detail. The Heloc in essence is your savings account, but it has to be used wisely. It does not make a difference having money in a savings or checking account making 1 to 5% versus having the money available in a Heloc as available credit, while having a smaller first mortgage balance. Having a line of credit is actually the biggest temptation for most consumers to spend money. So if one considers paying off the first mortgage with this method then it will only work by sticking to the plan. Most people have no plan, and even if they did it is hard for most of us to precisely “stick” to the plan. Personally, I think Harj Gill is doing a great service to the public for providing good education for a small cost. His web based software comes free for the first year when buying the book. You can renew your subscription to the software which is optional after the first year is over. $2,08 per month is actually not a bad deal for a system which keeps track of your balances and forecasts different scenarios based on changing variables.
AJ, this is another reason why I wrote this post. This “fascinating idea” is not new and it is certainly not the “magic bullet”. Of course the thought of owning your home free and clear is exciting to most homeowners. I caution everybody to take a good look at all options available and see if accelerated mortgage pay-off is beneficial in your own set of financial circumstances.
Mark, it is o.k. to be skeptical. May be I am reading too far in between the lines, however I am sensing a little cynicism in your comment and it appears that you haven’t taken a closer look at SpeedEquity®.. Harj Gill clearly discloses what his Speedequity® System does and what it does not. When looking at your video presentation, in comparison, Speedequity® offers a lot of similar things you do (webinars, self-help educational products). In comparison to the other guys who charge $3,500.00 for the same thing, Harj’s system is indeed too good to be true – but it is not. Harj is helping to empower everybody with knowledge, and educates people about banking principles and arbitrage. He provides the education and tools, however it is up to each individual on how to apply them – needless to say that the proverbial nail-gun is a great tool to frame a beautiful house, at the same time it is possible that you can shoot yourself in the finger with it. It just depends on how you use the nail-gun.
Jeff Brown on Aug 24, 2007
Christoff - End up at the point of retirement with a free and clear home + SS + plus whatever most regular folk manage to save, = deep disappointment for most.
This is of course, courter-intuitive on the surface, but is true nevertheless.
I see many people in their late 40’s-50’s in my office, who are well on their way to this type of retirement. You should see the expressions on their faces as I ask them how that plan has worked out for their parents and grandparents. I’ve actually seen the blood drain from their faces a couple times.
It’s a recipe not for a magnificent and abundant retirement, but for a self-imposed life sentence.
If you would, I invite you to listen privately to a short interview I gave a couple years ago on this subject. As you said so well, different folks have different agendas and goals. I’d love to know what you think of a free and clear home at retirement once you’ve listened to the interview.
Thanks for the post Christoff. Here’s the link.
http://www.bawldguy.com/podcast/grandpa_economics.mp3
Daniel Butterfield on Oct 3, 2007
Christoph,
I went to a meetup.com speed networking meeting one day. I found myself in the middle of 4 of 20 people selling this same product for $3500. I am not sure why but I spent 45 minutes with one person discussing the product and concluded that is was primarily debt consolidation that can also be accomplished with a refi or a Heloc. The twist is that instead of putting money in your savings you pay down your heloc and save some interest.
Seriously these guys would not leave me alone mostly because they figured out I operate a “Real Estate Hedge Fund ** ” Our portfolio is small compared to a regular hedge fund but we still have about $15Milloin in assets we manage.
Anyhow, as a licensed lender and experienced investor beware of all the new people pedaling these types of products, i am sure there exists free tools that accomplish the same thing.
I also keep a daily blog detailing my investments at http://blog.dometri.com
Take care
Daniel
Tony on Dec 28, 2007
Thank you for the info! I will be pushing it to clients more than expected at that price! Free info..
Gail on Apr 24, 2008
I’m paying down/off my mortgage (which is the ultimate question I haven’t answered yet) without benefit of software or a book. I do have a mortgage from a regional bank that allows me to reamortize my mortgage anytime I make a lump sum payment of $10,000 or more for a fee of $150. My balance is currently $49,000 and my payment is down to $300 a month (PI) and I can pay off the balance by December 2008. I don’t know whether it is “best” to pay off my 5.75% mortgage in this investment climate or not. I do know that I’m not making 5% on anything else this year, that I feel relieved by the idea of not having a mortgage, and that I love what’s going on with my cash flow but I wonder if I “should” pay the mortgage down to say $20,000 with a payment of $110 a month and use that cash to..remodel? invest elsewhere? other? Obviously, I am an aggressive saver but never did well in the market. I figure my next thing is to form an LLC and buy a rental (with a mortgage) and drive down my income taxes so I can improve my cash flow…and then?
How many of us would like a better answer to that question once we’ve paid off our mortgages?