I haven’t had a mortgage in over 20 years and never had a HELOC. My wife and I are extremely conservative with our money and when we bought homes with a mortgage, we never bit off more than about 25% of our income for a mortgage payment. I’ve seen too many people lose their jobs, get divorces, have medical hardships, etc. and I always had the mindset that I wasn’t going to ever let a house put me in a financial bind. When we lived in SD, we eventually owned our primary residence and a really nice second home that we rented out……we owned both free and clear. My point is that many financial genius’s will tell you to leverage, leverage, leverage……………but leverage can easily land you in the poor house. Use common sense when getting a mortgage.