Yes, you can take a HELOC now and pay it off later with a refinance. The key is how that later refinance gets classified. If the HELOC or second mortgage was opened after you bought the home, so the funds did not go toward the purchase, a refinance that pays it off is treated as a cash-out refinance rather than a rate-and-term one. Under Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's rules, a rate-and-term (limited cash-out) refinance can only pay off subordinate liens that were used entirely to acquire the property. A non-purchase second, or a HELOC with draws after the purchase, pushes the deal into cash-out territory. The rules used to be more forgiving. Years ago, a line with no draws in the last 12 months, or a fixed second more than a year old and seasoned, could be paid off in a refinance without counting as cash-out. Fannie and Freddie tightened that after the last housing crisis. Why the classification matters: pricing. Cash-out refinances carry loan-level price adjustments that make the rate or cost somewhat higher, so consolidating a non-purchase second this way runs slightly more expensive than a plain refinance. None of that should necessarily talk you out of a HELOC that fits your situation. Go in with eyes open: the eventual refinance that pays it off will be classified as cash-out and priced accordingly. Factor that into the decision up front instead of being surprised later.