Alicia is 59, has a $1 million net worth, and called into Suze Orman’s podcast because she cannot reliably cover a $4,000 monthly nut for mortgage and taxes on her New York beach townhouse. She has $400,000 in accounts and $600,000 in home equity, no debt other than a $320,000 mortgage, and she burned $60,000 of a $100,000 emergency fund surviving a six-month layoff. She took a commission-only job and is betting on herself to turn it into a W-2 salary by June. Friends tell her to sell. She does not want to.
Her question to Orman: “Am I being standoffish with my money by refusing to sell, or is it a sound move to protect my joy and my equity while I bridge this gap?”
Orman’s verdict: don’t sell yet, but don’t drift either
Orman’s answer was direct. Alicia has three real options, and selling is the last one to reach for. The cost of a wrong move at 59 is harder to recover from than at 39.
The first lever is a refinance. Orman asked whether Alicia could “refinance this $320,000, and go out longer in terms to reduce your monthly mortgage payment” if she wants to stay. Stretching a mortgage from a remaining 20-year term to 30 years lowers the monthly payment because the principal spreads across more months. The catch: today’s rates are not friendly. The 10-year Treasury sits near 4.6%, close to the high end of the past year’s range. Mortgage rates track that yield closely, so the refinance math only works if Alicia’s existing rate is meaningfully higher than today’s offers, or if she truly needs a smaller payment more than a lower total interest cost.
Why Orman lands on the HELOC
Her preferred answer is option two. “If I were you, I would most likely do the home equity line of credit,” Orman said, pointing specifically at Alliant Credit Union’s product. She cited an intro rate of 3.99% for the first 6 months, then a variable rate that can go as low as 6.75%, at zero plus prime, offered in 28 states including New York.
Here is the math that makes this the right tool for a bridge. If Alicia falls short by $1,500 in a given month and draws it from a HELOC at 3.99%, the interest cost is a few dollars. Even at 6.75%, drawing $5,000 over a three-month gap and paying it back when commissions land costs less than $100 in interest. Compare that to selling: realtor fees alone on her townhouse would likely run into the tens of thousands, plus moving costs, and she loses the asset Orman called her “highest yielding asset.” The current 3.75% Fed Funds rate, stable since December 2025, is what makes that HELOC pricing possible right now.
A HELOC is reversible. Once a sale closes, the home and the transaction costs are gone. If Alicia closes on a W-2 offer in June, she pays the line back and the episode ends. If she sells and the new job materializes, she has already paid transaction costs and given up the home she calls her sanctuary.
The variable that decides this: how long the gap lasts
Orman drew the line clearly. “Don’t let this go on too long. If you find that in June, in January, and sometime next year, you’re still in the same situation, then girlfriend, what you really have to do is sell and change your situation.”
A two-to-three-month bridge financed by a HELOC at 3.99% is a rounding error against a $600,000 equity stake. A 12-month grind that pulls $48,000 out of home equity while commissions never stabilize is something else. At that point, the HELOC becomes a slow drain on the same asset Alicia is trying to protect, and her cash reserves keep shrinking against a mortgage she cannot service. The housing backdrop also matters here. April 2026 housing starts came in at 1.47 million units, inside the healthy 1.2 to 1.5 million range, so a future sale would not be made into a collapsing market. That removes a key excuse to delay if the income picture does not improve.
Orman’s broader point applies to anyone using home equity to cover a shortfall: “You’re having a hard time right now while you’re working making your bills. That is reality, not what think is going to happen, not what you want to happen, but that is the reality right now.” The bridge is fine as a bridge. The trouble starts when it becomes the permanent plan.
What to actually do this week
- Pull the existing mortgage statement and price a refinance. If the current rate is well above today’s offers, a 30-year refi could cut the monthly payment meaningfully. If it is close to or below today’s offers, skip this step.
- Apply for the HELOC before you need it. Lenders price and approve HELOCs based on income and employment. Applying while still earning, even on commission, is easier than applying after another gap.
- Set a hard date. Write down the month at which a sale becomes the plan if W-2 income has not materialized.
- Rebuild the emergency fund first when income returns. The $40,000 remaining is the actual moat. Commission checks should refill that before anything else.
With consumer sentiment at 49.8 in April 2026, recessionary territory, a commission-only role is fragile at 59. The HELOC buys time. Time is only valuable if you use it to fix the income side. If June turns into next June, sell.
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