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The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you. SHARE: Brandon Ruckman/Getty Images July 26, 2022 Dori Zinn has been a personal finance journalist for more than a decade. Aside from her work for Bankrate, her bylines have appeared on CNET, Yahoo Finance, MSN Money, Wirecutter, Quartz, Inc. and more. She loves helping people learn about money, specializing in topics like investing, real estate, borrowing money and financial literacy. Aylea Wilkins is an editor specializing in personal and home equity loans. She has previously worked for Bankrate editing content about auto, home and life insurance. She has been editing professionally for nearly a decade in a variety of fields with a primary focus on helping people make financial and purchasing decisions with confidence by providing clear and unbiased information. Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict editorial integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for how we make money. Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
Founded in 1976, Bankrate has a long track record of helping people make smart financial choices. We’ve maintained this reputation for over four decades by demystifying the financial decision-making process and giving people confidence in which actions to take next. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. All of our content is authored by and edited by , who ensure everything we publish is objective, accurate and trustworthy. Our home equity reporters and editors focus on the points consumers care about most — the latest rates, the best lenders, different types of home equity options and more — so you can feel confident when you make decisions as a borrower or homeowner. Bankrate logo Editorial integrity
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You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money. Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service. To get a with bad credit, you’ll likely have to have a low (DTI), a high income and at least 15 percent equity in your home. Having poor credit means you might face a tougher time borrowing money, but it’s not impossible to qualify. A home equity loan may be easier to qualify for than other forms of borrowing such as a personal loan if you have bad credit. That’s because a is a secured loan; it uses your house as collateral, which offers the bank some “security” if you don’t repay the loan. You’re borrowing against your house and the equity you’ve built up. Your home equity loan options depend on several factors, including just how poor your credit is. Before applying, find out what you need to obtain a bad credit home equity loan. How to qualify for a home equity loan with bad credit
Not all lenders have the same standards for home equity loans. Because of this, it is a good idea to shop around and research rates and terms from multiple lenders. Common home equity requirements include: At least 15 percent to 20 percent equity in your home. A minimum credit score of 621. A maximum DTI of 43 percent, or up to 50 percent in some cases. On-time bill payment history. Stable employment and income history. Some lenders may be willing to provide home equity loans to homeowners with a credit score as low as 620, but finding these offers can be especially challenging. may work with applicants who have credit scores in this range. Lenders that offer home equity loans with bad credit
It may help to look for lenders willing to work with borrowers with bad credit. These lenders typically do not specify minimum credit score requirements as part of their home equity loan application process. When borrowing from these lenders, you will likely have to pay a higher interest rate than an applicant with good credit. Additional requirements may include having more income to secure the home equity loan than other applicants and a greater amount of home equity. However, these trade-offs may be worth it if you plan to use the home equity loan to make improvements that increase the value of your home or to consolidate and pay off other debt impacting your credit score. Some lenders offer home equity loans to applicants with bad credit, including those below. Lender Credit requirements Minimum income requirements Loan amounts APR range Flagstar Bank Not specified Not specified $10,000 to $1 million Starting at 7.79% Third Federal Savings & Loan Not specified Not specified $10,000 to $200,000 Starting at 4.49% Fifth Third Bank Not specified Not specified $10,000 to $250,000 Starting at 3.75% Rockland Trust Bank Not specified Not specified $25,000 to $400,000 Starting at 5.62% Even if you don’t have good or excellent credit, home equity loans are still available. Here’s what you need to do before you apply for a home equity loan. 1 Check your credit report
Review what the lenders will see by checking your credit report before they do. Typically, you can see yours for free once a year from each of the three major credit bureaus at . However, due to COVID-19, you can check it weekly until April 20, 2022. This allows you to remove any errors or work to before applying for a home equity loan. 2 Evaluate your debt-to-income ratio
Before you figure out how much you can take out, see how much you can afford by calculating your DTI. Your DTI divides your monthly debt obligations by your monthly gross income. To calculate your DTI, add up all your monthly debt, including loans, credit card payments and any other financial obligations. Then, divide this by your monthly gross income. For example, if your monthly debt is $2,000 and your monthly gross income is $5,000, your calculation would look like this: $2,000 / $5,000 = 40 percent DTI To make things easy, you can also use a . A higher DTI is a turnoff to lenders because you have less money to put toward other expenses, such as a home equity loan. Even if you’re making payments, there’s a chance that you could experience a financial hardship that would make it difficult — or even impossible — to repay your home equity loan. You’ll want to keep your DTI as low as possible, but ideally, it should be less than 43 percent. 3 Make sure you have enough equity
Lenders typically require that you have at least 15 percent or 20 percent equity in your home, and the more equity you have, the better rates you’ll see. Your equity is determined by your or LTV. The LTV ratio is calculated as a percentage by dividing your remaining loan balance by the home’s current value. For example, an appraiser might determine that your home is worth $400,000. If you still owe $250,000 on the loan, your LTV is 62.5 percent ($250,000 / $400,000 = 0.625). This means that you have 37.5 percent equity in your home — likely enough to qualify for a home equity loan. 4 Consider how much you need
When borrowing money, it’s easy to take out more than you need just in case something unexpected comes up. Most lenders allow you to borrow up to 80 percent or 85 percent of your home’s value (minus existing mortgage obligations), though some lenders may go higher. Using the example above, you would make the following calculations to find out how much you can borrow: $400,000 (the home’s value) x 0.85 (the maximum percentage you can borrow) = $340,000 (the maximum amount of equity available for borrowing) $340,000 (the maximum amount of equity available for borrowing) – $250,000 (the remaining mortgage balance) = $90,000 (the total amount you can borrow from a home equity loan) Remember that just because you’re eligible to take on a $90,000 loan doesn’t mean you should. It’s best to borrow only what you need; borrowing in excess will only increase your monthly payments and the total amount of interest you’ll pay. 5 Compare interest rates
Your interest rate depends on many factors, but one of the biggest is your credit score. The lower your credit score, the higher your interest rate. For instance, a borrower with a credit score between 620 and 639 would pay an average interest rate of 10.88 percent for a 15-year fixed home equity loan of $50,000. That’s more than double the interest rate of a borrower with a top-tier credit rating, according to FICO data. Someone with a poor credit score will pay almost $200 more each month for the same size loan. See the chart below. Interest rates and payments for a 15-year $50 000 home equity loan
FICO Score Range Interest Rate Monthly Payment 740-850 4.78% $390 720-739 5.15% $399 700-719 6.4% $433 670-699 7.78% $471 640-669 9.28% $515 620-639 10.78% $561 Source: as of January 14, 2022 6 Use a co-signer
If your credit is poor enough that you don’t qualify for a loan on your own, applying with a may help. A co-signer applies for your home equity loan with you. On paper, they are just as responsible for paying the loan back as you are, even if they don’t intend to make payments. If you fall behind on repaying your loan, suffers along with yours. “A co-signer can help with credit and income issues for an applicant who has a lower credit score, but ultimately the main applicant or primary borrower will have to have at least the bare minimum credit score that is required based on the bank’s underwriting guidelines,” says Ralph DiBugnara, president of Home Qualified. It is important to be mindful of applying for a loan with a co-signer. Have rules and expectations in place if you can’t afford to make payments, and be open with your co-signer if something comes up. If you have a history of falling behind on loan payments or cannot pay on time, reconsider using a co-signer. 7 Consider boosting your credit first
To increase your chances of getting approved, work on and reducing your debt relative to your income. Check your credit report to see if there are any errors, such as lines of credit you didn’t open or other issues, such as overdue payments. Pay bills on time every month. At the very least, make the minimum payment, but try to pay the balance off completely. Don’t close credit cards after you pay them off. Either leave them alone or have a small, recurring payment every month. Closing cards reduces your and can cause your credit score to dip. Don’t max out or open new credit cards. Maxing your cards out gives you a high , making you look like an irresponsible credit user. Pay existing credit card debt to stay below the recommended 30 percent utilization rate. Fixing your credit won’t happen overnight. It takes discipline and time. But the rewards — boosting your creditworthiness and gaining financial freedom — are worth it. 8 Try a lender you already have a relationship with
Reaching out to a lender you already have a relationship with is another potential avenue to obtaining a home equity loan if you have poor credit. As an existing customer, a lender may be more willing to work with you and consider factors beyond your credit score as part of the application process. For instance, if you have a mortgage with a lender and have a consistent history of making monthly payments on time, that may help you qualify for a home equity loan. “A loan officer familiar with the details of an applicant’s situation can help them present it to an underwriter in the best possible way,” says DiBugnara. “But ultimately the underwriter will decide based on the bank’s guideline and the perceived risk level of the loan. The lower the credit score, the more risk the person will be perceived to be.” Can I get a home equity line of credit HELOC with bad credit
You’ll probably face a tougher time borrowing money with bad credit, but getting approved for a is possible. Because of your lower credit score, however, you might have to pay more in interest. What is a HELOC
A is a line of credit that operates similarly to a credit card. , your home is the collateral that secures the loan. This loan product lets you borrow money on an as-needed basis. At the beginning of the loan, there’s a draw period that typically lasts for 10 years. During this draw period, you’re responsible for making interest-only payments. However, once the , you’re required to begin making payments toward the interest and principal portion of the remaining balance. Also, if you sell your home during the loan’s term, you’ll have to pay off the remaining balance in full. Unlike home equity loans, HELOCs typically have variable interest rates. To secure the best interest rate, you need to have a good to excellent credit score, a good debt-to-income ratio and a healthy income. Risks of HELOCs with bad credit
When you take out a HELOC while having bad credit, one of the most important risks is that you probably won’t secure the best interest rate. This can make using this option more expensive. In addition, it’s harder to budget for repaying your loan since the interest rate varies. If the interest rate increases, it can increase your borrowing costs. Another risk would be drawing too much money before the draw period expires. Although you’re only responsible for making interest payments during the draw period, keep in mind that you’ll have to pay the principal back in the future. Don’t draw more than you can afford to repay. Finally, the most important risk of taking out a HELOC with bad credit is losing your home if you can’t afford to repay the loan. Since your home secures the loan, the lender can foreclose on your home if you cannot repay your debt. Home equity loan alternatives if you have bad credit
Having bad credit might mean not qualifying for a home equity loan, but you also have other options to consider. Personal loans
Just as lender requirements vary for home equity loans, the same applies to personal loans. A bad credit score may get you denied, but some lenders have options for low-score borrowers. You just have to look for them. usually have shorter repayment terms, typically up to five or seven years. Your monthly payments could be higher than with a home equity loan. Some lenders allow loans up to $100,000, comparable to a home equity loan, but many lenders cap their amounts at less. This could impact which lender you choose. Because personal loans are unsecured, you’ll need a good credit score or a co-signer to qualify. Personal loans are available if you have , but your interest rate will be much higher than that of a home equity loan. For example, if you have very poor or fair credit — a credit score that ranges from 300 to 669 — your estimated APR could be between 17.8 percent and 32 percent. Cash-out refinance
With a , you pay off your existing mortgage with a new, larger loan and receive the difference in cash. Many lenders require you to have at least 20 percent equity in your home for a cash-out refinance. A cash-out refinance might not be the best move unless you get an equal or lower interest rate. You’ll pay more in interest over the life of the loan, which could be 15 to 30 years. Don’t forget that refinancing a mortgage also comes with lender fees and closing costs. The bottom line
Getting a home equity loan with bad credit may be difficult, but it’s not impossible. For the best chance at approval, work on improving your credit score, paying off existing debt and making as many mortgage payments as possible to increase your total equity. From there, shop around with a few lenders to see which will offer you the best interest rate. Learn more
SHARE: Dori Zinn has been a personal finance journalist for more than a decade. Aside from her work for Bankrate, her bylines have appeared on CNET, Yahoo Finance, MSN Money, Wirecutter, Quartz, Inc. and more. She loves helping people learn about money, specializing in topics like investing, real estate, borrowing money and financial literacy. Aylea Wilkins is an editor specializing in personal and home equity loans. She has previously worked for Bankrate editing content about auto, home and life insurance. She has been editing professionally for nearly a decade in a variety of fields with a primary focus on helping people make financial and purchasing decisions with confidence by providing clear and unbiased information. Related Articles