I closed on my AIO! Now what?!

Upon closing an AIO, a few things happen that are different from a conventional loan. Since it involves a sweep checking account that can take a few weeks to open, it’s helpful to know what to expect.

From the time of closing, it can take up to four weeks for you to receive a packet (first via e-mail, then in your physical mail) with your new AIO checking account’s routing and account numbers. The physical packet will contain your debit card as well. if you’d like to order checks, you can do so online. Your debit card (and checks) will automatically pull funds from your HELOC.

At the time of receiving your new account details, you can begin setting up any ACH deposits or bill-pay accounts. You can also begin moving money from other accounts into your AIO checking. Every dollar deposited into the AIO checking account will be automatically swept into the HELOC each night at midnight, so if you log into your account (on your phone, or in a web browser) you’ll see that exact amount in your AIO checking account the same day as the deposit, and the next day the checking account balance will be back down to $0, and your HELOC balance will reflect the new lower balance corresponding to the previous day’s deposit.

You will use the Northpointe banking app to deposit funds into your AIO. All deposits will go into your checking account, and then transfer (that night) into the HELOC. There are no daily deposit limits for our app.

To connect your AIO to external bank accounts, you’ll follow the prompts on each bank’s websites to link the two accounts for instant transfers. If you need to transfer funds from your AIO to an external account, you’ll initiate the draw from the external account’s website.

Note: certain apps—such as Venmo—use “instant verification” before allowing funds to be transferred.

Since the AIO checking account will typically show a $0 balance, Venmo may not always work. We’ve had no issues at all so long as Venmo is connected to our AIO debit card. But if you do experience any problems, we recommend keeping an outside checking account that you can use for instant transfers through such apps. You can initiate a transfer from your external account, pull the funds from your AIO, and send via Venmo without any problems.

Logging into your account online will allow you to see (1) your current balance owed on your mortgage, (2) your available equity, (3) that month’s interest rate, and (4) the interest charge that will be added on the 21st of that month. (The mobile app will simply show you #s 1 and 4.)

Seeing a $0 balance in your checking account but, say, $240,000 as available equity means you can write a check that day for $240,000. If you owed $200,000 on your HELOC and your wrote a check (or setup an external transfer) for $240,000, the next day you would be paying interest on $440,000 instead of $200,000.

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