How do I add an existing loan account to lifetime planning assumptions?

Jay Gourley

When I try add a loan to my lifetime planning assumption, Quick goes to the routine for creating a new online account. Is there a way to add an existing loan account that already has a history and is set to update online?

Scooterlam

Okay,  I see that a HELoC is assigned as Account type: Credit in Quicken.   Since it is a HELoC and NOT a Home Equity Loan, then you can explore a few alternative ways to model that expense in LTP.   

With any of these alternatives, you will need to ensure that changes in the expense amount and years that that expense are updated in LTP periodically.   That is, when you take additional draws, interest rate changes, term changes, make larger or smaller payment et al.

After you add/update, inspect LTPs Plan result tables for the appropriate expense amount and term are represented correctly.

1.  Use Debt Reduction Planner (DRP), in the Planning tab.  Setup a DRP for the HELoC, then go to Lifetime Planner (LTP) and include your DRP in your LTP plan.  Find this option under LTP Assumptions dialog.  In LTP, Plan Result table, find these expenses under Debt Payments line.

Note: some users have reported not being able to "turn-on" their DRP in LTP and there is also a known issue that accelerated DRP dates (when using what if planning) are not modeled correctly in LTP.  More information about these issues here and here.  May or may not be an issue for you.

I'm not a DRP user but I did notice in my testing that if you take additional draws from the HELoC or make payments, your DRP payment and payoff dates and therefore your LTP plan will not update automatically unless you create a new DRP plan reflecting the new payment and subsequent payoff date.  A new DRP plan...meaning remove the HELoC from the existing plan and re-add it....Once this is done, LTP should reflect the new yearly payment and payoff date associated with the be balance.

2.  Use Special Expenses dialog in LTP.   If you are paying back in periodic yearly payments (or can otherwise estimate a yearly periodic amount), you can insert your P/I expense and the timeframe and model it here.  Of course, you will need to update the amount and timeframe as you take additional draws or make additional or extra payments.  In LTP, Plan Result table,  find these expenses under Special Expenses line.

3.  Use Adjustment to Living Expenses dialog in LTP:  Similar in approach to #2 but has perhaps less controls. Adjustments can be made for discreet time periods.  Update as necessary.  In LTP, Plan Result table,  find these expenses under Adjustments to Living Expenses line.

4.   Use Expenses button and dialog in the Current Homes and Assets dialog in LTP.  There is a section for expenses associated with your home asset. Of course you need to include your home as an asset in LTP and to do that your home needs to have its own account in Quicken.  Note:  when you sell that home and you still have a HELOC payment modelled as an expense, LTP will stop those HELOC expenses rather than show a HELOC balance payoff from home sale proceeds...Perhaps modelling the HELOC as a manual Loan is convenient if you have a future home sale planned, as @Sherlock described.  YMMV based on how you use the HELOC.

Note that LTP does not care about past history of the HELOC (you do), but generally just the expected yearly expense and given years going forward.  So if there it isn't a periodic payment, you will need to make it so otherwise stitch together separate time-delineated entries described in 2,3,4....PIA....if it really matters....

So there are a few additional options if you are carrying a balance and making payments.