Should You Sell Investments to Buy a House... or Borrow Instead?

In this month's episode of Beyond the Advisor, Nina Breen, CFP®, RICP®, CPWA®, Senior Wealth Planner, and Micah Alsobrook, CPFA®, MBA, Retirement Plan Advisor, walk through a hypothetical client case that comes up all the time: a married couple in their mid-40s with a $4.2 million net worth who've found their next home and need $500,000 for the down payment. The question on the table — should they sell investments to fund it, or borrow instead?Nina and Micah break down the real options on the board: selling from a taxable brokerage account, using a home equity line of credit (HELOC), or opening a securities-backed line of credit (SBLOC). Along the way they unpack the tax impact of selling, the difference between qualified and non-qualified accounts, how much you can actually borrow against a portfolio, and the risks to watch for — then model how each path could play out over a lifetime inside a financial plan.Key Topics Include:- Selling investments vs. borrowing to fund a large purchase- How capital gains taxes hit a taxable brokerage account sale- Qualified vs. non-qualified (taxable) accounts — and why it matters here- How a securities-backed line of credit (SBLOC) actually works- SBLOC vs. HELOC: comparing borrowing power and risk- Advance rates — how much of your portfolio you can borrow against- The long-term cost of selling: compounding and opportunity cost- SBLOC pitfalls: margin calls and market volatility- Setting up a line of credit proactively as a liquidity backstop