• Having a HELOC paid off but still available for use is a comfort.NA/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  A home equity line, or HELOC, is a second mortgage in the form of a line of credit. The chief advantage of a HELOC is you can use it partially or fully, then repay it and use it again multiple times. You only pay interest on the mortgage when you have an outstanding principal balance. You are free to repay the principal balance partially or fully whenever and however you choose.
  
  

Lump Sum

• You may think it impossible to repay your HELOC in one lump sum payment. After all, if you had that kind of cash, you would not have had to take out the loan in the first place. However, unexpected windfalls do happen. You might come into a large inheritance, decide to cash in a stock or get a huge bonus. Because this mortgage is a line of credit, you can fully repay it but still have the cash available through the line should you want or need it for another purpose. In the meantime, you would be free from interest payments.
  
  

Amortize from the Start

• With many HELOCs, during the initial period of the loan -- often the first 10 years -- you are usually only required to make interest payments on the used portion of the line, or interest and a very small portion of principal. Full amortization of the principal often doesn't start for a decade. Using an online mortgage calculator, however, you could determine what the payment would be if you were to fully amortize the loan over whatever period you choose to repay it. Pick a term with payments you can handle and then make that payment every month. Specify what amount of each payment applies to principal. You will have the loan fully repaid at the end of the term you have chosen, and you will have reduced your monthly interest payments.
  
  

Make Extra Payments

• HELOC payments are typically required monthly, but banks charge interest on a daily basis. Many workers receive paychecks bi-weekly. Taking the regular HELOC payment from your first bi-weekly paycheck and an extra principal-only payment from your second bi-weekly pay would result in a reduction to the interest due each month. Additionally, you would retire the loan much more quickly than the terms require. The greater the principal payment you make, the sooner you will pay off the loan.