Homeside Financial Home Equity Review 2024

Homeside Financial’s HELOCs are available in 45 states and Washington, D.C. The product isn’t available in:

• Alaska
• Hawaii
• New York
• Rhode Island
• Vermont

Loan amounts for its HELOCs start at $15,000—slightly higher than some lenders—with amounts going as high as $350,000. If you’re qualified, you can also take advantage of the lender’s high LTV, which goes up to 95%. By comparison, many of the best HELOC lenders limit the LTV to 85%.

Homeside HELOCs have an adjustable rate, with APRs starting at 5.75%—lower than some top competitors. As with other loan terms, the APR you qualify for is based on when you open the account, your credit qualifications, line of credit size, LTV and property type.

Homeside doesn’t advertise typical closing speeds, but customer reviews indicate the lender may be slower than other HELOC lenders.

Customer Support

You can contact Homeside via phone or email, but the website doesn’t provide customer support hours. Lower’s customer service team—which Homeside redirects you to—is available Monday through Friday during normal business hours.

If you prefer to meet with a loan officer in person, Homeside has more than 50 locations across 22 states. That said, its online resources appear more limited than those available through other lenders. This lack of guidance may be frustrating—especially if this is your first time getting a HELOC.

Homeside Financial doesn’t publish its exact requirements online—you’ll need to contact a loan officer by phone or through the company’s website to see if you qualify—but here’s what you may need.

Credit Score

You should typically have a minimum credit score in the mid- to high-600s to qualify for HELOCs. However, more qualified consumers may qualify for the most competitive HELOC rates and could be eligible for lower closing costs.

Maximum Debt-to-Income (DTI) Ratio

Your DTI ratio represents how much of your monthly income goes toward your monthly debt payments and is expressed as a percentage. While Homeside Financial doesn’t publish a specific DTI requirement, most lenders want to see a ratio of 43% or less. However, this requirement varies by lender and home equity product.

Home Equity

To qualify for a HELOC, lenders generally require homeowners to have at least 15% to 20% home equity. For example, if your home has a $200,000 market value, you should have between $30,000 and $40,000 in home equity to qualify for a HELOC.

Homeside Financial doesn’t charge annual fees, but all of its HELOCs have a 1% origination fee. You’ll also have to pay government taxes and fees at closing. HELOC closing costs vary by lender but usually add up to around 2% to 5% of the loan amount. There are no prepayment penalties.

You must carry property insurance to get a HELOC through Homeside Financial. Flood insurance is also required if your home is in an area with special flood hazards. These costs vary based on several factors, including your home’s location, age, roof condition, construction quality and other features.

Related: Best Mortgage Lenders With No Origination Fee

Homeside Financial doesn’t publish many details about its HELOC application process on its website. And, unlike many of its competitors, you’ll need to contact a loan officer to start the process.

To apply for a Homeside Financial HELOC, go to the lender’s HELOC homepage and click “I’m Ready.” Then, enter your personal details and click “Let’s get started.” A Homeside Financial representative will contact you via phone or email to begin the application process. You can also contact the company via phone.

If you get turned down for a HELOC through Homeside Financial, contact your loan officer to find out why. Lenders are legally required to provide this information, and understanding why you were denied can help you improve your future approval odds.

If Homeside denied your application due to insufficient credit, review your credit report and dispute any errors that may be affecting your score. You can also improve your credit score by paying down existing debts, maintaining low credit card balances and making on-time payments.

Your application also may be rejected if you have insufficient home equity to qualify for a HELOC or a high DTI. If you have time, pay down your mortgage and other debts—or increase your income—before reapplying for a HELOC.

As of May 2023, Homeside Financial has a score of 1.31 out of 5 through the Better Business Bureau (BBB) based on 13 customer reviews. However, it has a score of 4.89 out of 5 on Zillow based on more than 2,000 customer reviews, and its parent company, Lower, has a 4.8-star rating based on 2,529 customer reviews on Trustpilot.

Homeside Financial is not BBB-accredited, but the BBB does give it an A+ rating based on how the company responds to complaints, its time in business, size and other factors.

Most customer reviews relate to home refinancing, with negative comments focused on lengthy closing processes and additional fees for things like appraisals. Unhappy customers also report issues with reaching customer service and aggressive and misleading marketing tactics.

We graded Homeside Financial based on features that have a meaningful impact on the cost of a home equity loan and a borrower’s experience, including interest rates, loan options, accessibility, closing time and customer service.

We award bonus points if a lender doesn’t require closing costs on its home equity products, offers a specialty rate discount, a fixed-rate HELOC option, customizable terms for its home equity products and/or a fully online application process.

Our scoring method is broken down as follows:

• Interest rate. 25%
• Time to close. 20%
• Accessibility. 20%
• Customer service experience. 20%
• Loan options. 15%
• Bonus points. Up to 25 points

We chose to focus on these core elements to bring forward lenders that offer the most competitive rates while also providing a satisfactory customer experience accessible to borrowers of all financial backgrounds. We believe this scoring system best reflects consumers’ top priorities when comparison shopping for mortgage lenders.

To learn more about our rating and review methodology and editorial process, check out our guide on How Forbes Advisor Reviews Mortgage Lenders.