Home equity comparison
Compare what borrowing against your home could cost.
Compare a HELOC, home equity loan, and home equity investment using the same home value, cash amount, and sale year. See upfront fees, payments, and what could be owed when you sell.
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Compare your scenario
Change the inputs to update the estimates and see the published terms behind each result.
Why does the order move?
Three things move it. A share of the home's value grows with the home and with the years, so a fast-rising home or a long hold makes an investment expensive and a flat market makes it cheap. An interest rate does not care what the home does. And upfront fees are fixed, so they weigh most on a short hold. The calculator uses the published share, the published rate, and the published fees, and nothing else.
Who this is not for
If you are choosing on speed, service, or who will approve you, this tool has nothing to say to you. It compares published terms, and it does not know whether any of these providers would take your application. It is not financial advice.
Questions answered
26 questions about borrowing against a home, answered from lenders' published terms and the federal rules behind them.
Reading the cost
- What three numbers show what home equity really costs you?
- Why can't an advertised rate tell you what a home equity loan or HELOC will cost?
- What does "owed at sale" mean, and why is it so large even after years of payments?
- If two lenders quote you a home equity loan, which numbers show which one costs less?
- If a home equity loan or HELOC has no closing costs, what fees are left, and is the interest tax-deductible?
How the products work
- How do you work out how much equity you have in your home?
- What happens after you take out a home equity loan, and how does repayment work?
- What changes when a HELOC's draw period ends?
- Once the money is out, what actually differs between a home equity loan and a HELOC?
- What is a home equity investment, and how much do you pay back at the end?
Rates and payments
- Where does a HELOC rate come from, and how much does a move in prime change the bill?
- How much lower does a home equity loan payment get if you stretch the term, and what does that cost?
- How do you calculate a HELOC payment, and why does it jump when repayment starts?
Comparing lenders and products
- Which costs less for the same $50,000, a home equity loan, a HELOC or an HEI?
- Should you pick the home equity loan or the HELOC when both come from the same lender?
- Is a bank, a credit union or an online lender cheaper for a home equity loan?
- Which home equity lenders publish their rates and fees, and which make you apply first?
- When a comparison site lists a lender, is the lender paying the site, and does that change the order?
Qualifying and borrowing limits
- What will a lender check when you apply for a home equity loan, and how long before you get the money?
- What credit score do you need for a home equity loan?
- How much can you borrow against your house, and why does each lender give a different number?
- When does a home equity loan make sense, and when does it cost you more than it saves?
Other ways to get cash, and refinancing
- What are the ways to get cash out of your home's equity, and how do they differ?
- Is a home equity loan cheaper than a personal loan, and what changes when your house backs the debt?
- When is a home equity loan cheaper than a cash-out refinance, and when isn't it?
- Can you refinance your mortgage if you have a HELOC, or refinance the HELOC itself?
Related
Written by Kaz (pen name). Figures are copied from providers' published pages on the dates shown. We have not used these products. Corrections: contact form.