Jamie Johnson

Want to tap your home equity without giving up your low mortgage rate? Compare home equity loans, HELOCs, reverse mortgages, home equity agreements, and more.

Home equity sharing provides a way to tap home equity without making monthly payments or selling your home. Learn if it might work for you.

Exploring renovation financing? Learn whether to roll costs into your mortgage, use a cash-out refi, tap home equity, or choose a better alternative.

Curious about the cost to refinance your mortgage? Explore average costs, essential fees, and what to expect when refinancing your home.

When home values fall, your HEI settlement adjusts accordingly, sharing market risk rather than locking you into a fixed repayment path.

An HEI contract determines who participates in future home value, who controls key decisions, and how the arrangement ends.

Home equity investments differ from mortgages, giving you three options to choose from when their terms end.

HEIs offer no monthly payments but they come with fees and tax consequences. See how costs work and what to expect.

HEI requirements for low credit and income—learn how approval works, what lenders look at, and how HEIs compare to HELOCs and home equity loans.

A HELOC gives homeowners financial flexibility, but access can be reduced or frozen if a lender's risk model changes.

Your CLTV determines whether a lender will approve your application and how much you’ll be allowed to borrow. See how it works here.

Under current tax rules for 2026, HELOC deductibility depends on how the money is used, not the loan itself.

HELOCs can be safe in retirement, as long as the borrower weighs their risks and are disciplined in their plan.

The best option depends on your timeline and finances, and whether you prefer paying with future growth or interest.

Your lender will base your HELOC limit on your financial stability, assessed risk, and combined loan-to-value ratio.

Having a mortgage and a HELOC is relatively common; risk stems from how that debt is used and how comfortable your payments are.

Is opening a HELOC you don’t plan to use a smart move? Learn the pros, risks, and who unused HELOCs work best for.

Although your lender will provide your HELOC borrowing limit, how much you can and should tap into depends on several factors.

A decline in home value doesn’t automatically change the terms of your HELOC, but lenders can act under certain conditions.

Learn how using a reverse mortgage to delay Social Security can boost lifetime benefits, protect investments, and improve retirement cash flow.