A legitimate strategy, and one we have no real objection to when the numbers pencil. A home equity line lets you write a check, so if your available line covers the purchase, you show up as a cash buyer. In a competitive situation that is a real edge, because a clean offer with no financing contingency is often what separates the winning bid from the rest. The back end runs through what is called delayed financing. Under the conventional delayed financing exception, you can do a cash-out refinance immediately after an all-cash purchase, within the six months following, without the standard cash-out seasoning, as long as the requirements are met: an arms-length purchase, documented source of the funds, no liens on the property, a loan amount no greater than your original purchase price, and the applicable loan-to-value caps. That refinance pulls your money back out to repay the line and puts permanent financing on the home. Three things to confirm before you rely on the plan: - The carrying cost on the HELOC while it is drawn. - The pricing on the delayed-financing refinance, since cash-out loans can price a bit higher than a standard purchase loan. - That you qualify for the permanent loan, because the whole structure depends on the refinance closing. When those check out, buying with the line and refinancing after is a sound way to compete with cash buyers, and it is exactly the kind of structure we map out in the free Roadmap conversation.