How it works
What does a HomeEQ HELOC look like in action? We’ll explain our streamlined HELOC process so you have the details needed to take the next steps. See if our HELOC is the right option to support your financial goals.
How our HELOC works for you
Simple start
To get your personal offer, start an account now to share basic details about your situation.
Approved in 15 minutes
Finish the digital application for streamlined processing without traditional timelines.
Cash within days
When approved, you’ll receive access to cash within as few as five days to use for life’s expenses.
What to expect with our self-service HELOC
We’ve outlined our process and terms so you know what to expect when you apply for a HELOC. Our process is quick and convenient, taking only 10-15 minutes, rather than hours, days, or even weeks like traditional loans.
Apply confidently and optimize your equity after approval.
How to apply for a HELOC
- Get a personalized offer using HomeEQ’s simple and fast digital process that takes only 15 minutes and can be started anytime, 24/7
- Run through our push-button application that includes digital verification for income, credit, home value, and other documentation to get approved
- Receive access to funds within as few as five days following approval
HELOC potential term options
- Borrow between $25k-$350k
- Term lengths of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 years
- Adjustable-rate mortgage
- For primary residences and second properties
- No prepayment fees
How we verify income
- When you apply you’ll provide the name of your employer, your monthly income, and duration of employment for yourself and anyone else on the application.
- We confirm these details electronically, when you securely connect your bank account(s) or a payroll provider(s)
- This simplifies the process so that you don’t have to share copies of W2s or other documentation.
How to use cash from a HELOC
Depending on the term length you’re approved for, you can borrow cash, or “draw” up to the loan limit for up to the first 5 years.
- Draw period of 3 years for HELOCs with a term length of 5 years
- Draw period of 3 or 5 years for HELOCs with terms lengths of 10, 15, 20, or 30 years.
Initial draw: Once you’re approved for a specific loan amount (your “credit limit”), you draw at least 90% at approval.
How it Works FAQs
Our digital HELOC simplifies documentation by leveraging digital verification methods. All you need to apply is to provide verification access using your personal information such as a driver’s license, social security number, income verification (Bank account credentials where pay is being received as Direct Deposit or Credentials to Payroll provider) and Home owner Insurance verification. We’ll pull in the necessary data to verify things like income, credit score, home value, and more.
We will also want to make sure Credit is not frozen at the Credit Bureaus
This allows you to avoid the limitations of traditional underwriting where a HELOC could take weeks or even months, requiring an in-person appraisal, various forms of documentation, and a team of people to process the loan.
HELOC terms are based on details like each homeowner’s income, credit score, debt-to-income ratio, home equity, home value, property type, and more.
When you apply for a HELOC, our digital process will run your specific details through our system to understand exactly what terms you qualify for. You’ll see what options are available to you and choose the options that best meet your needs.
This could include options like longer term lengths for lower monthly payments or shorter term lengths for lower interest costs over the life of the loan.
You’ll also see your personalized interest rate and potential loan limit, which will all give you a clearer picture of the cash you can access from your home equity, as well as the cost of the HELOC overall.
There are many different financing options available, especially to those who have assets to leverage like a home. Consider what you need financing for and how to balance your immediate needs with long-term affordability.
Each financing option comes with pros and cons. For example, HELOCs give you access to cash, which gives you flexibility to pay for large expenses. A HELOC requires your property to be used as collateral, which can be a risk if you default on the loan. But because you’re leveraging your property, lenders can give you lower interest rates and more affordable terms that make monthly payments easier to sustain. HELOCs don’t have prepayment penalties so can be paid off more quickly over time or when you sell the property.
Other options like credit cards or personal loans don’t allow you to leverage property as collateral. Lenders and creditors see these as a bigger risk so they often charge much higher interest rates, making these potentially harder to afford in the long run. Credit cards also can’t be used for large expenses in some cases.
A soft credit pull is often done for the purpose of initial steps like a pre-approval, allowing you or a lender to see basic information about your credit history — but not your full credit report. It doesn’t affect your credit score in any way.
A hard credit pull is done when you’re ready to apply for a loan like a HELOC. The lender does a hard credit pull to view your entire credit report, which will help to determine what terms you qualify for. The hard credit pull will also be reported to your credit report and likely remain there for about 2 years. Having a one or two hard credit pulls on your report won’t hurt your credit. If you have more than a few though it can lower your credit score, so you want to be mindful when authorizing a hard credit pull.
With HomeEQ’s digital HELOC application, a soft credit pull is needed for initial account setup and pre-qualification. Once you’re ready to proceed, you’ll authorize a hard credit pull through the application process to officially apply for the HELOC.
