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Loan program · Home equity

HELOC — A Line of Credit on Your Equity

A HELOC is a revolving line of credit secured by your home's equity — you keep your existing low-rate first mortgage exactly as it is, and draw only what you need, when you need it. Use it for renovations, a bridge-style down payment on the next property, debt consolidation, or as a standby emergency line. You pay interest only on what you've drawn, and a piggyback HELOC at purchase can even help you avoid jumbo pricing or mortgage insurance.

Tap your home's equity without touching your low first-mortgage rate. Straight answers below, and a calculator that runs your numbers with today's averages.

How much line your equity supports

Your home's value$1,200,000
Still owed on your mortgage$500,000

Line at 80% CLTV

$460,000

Line at 90% CLTV

$580,000

Combined loan-to-value = (your mortgage + the line) ÷ home value. Program maximums vary; your first mortgage stays exactly as it is. Informational only, not a commitment to lend.

The numbers

Keep it

Your first mortgage

your existing low rate stays untouched

Draw as needed

Revolving credit

interest only on what you actually use

~80–90%

Combined LTV

how much total borrowing your equity supports

2 uses

Purchase or after

piggyback at closing, or standalone later

Who it fits

  • Homeowners sitting on equity who refuse to give up a 3% first mortgage — correctly.
  • Renovators who want to draw in stages instead of borrowing one lump sum.
  • Buyers using a piggyback HELOC at purchase to stay under jumbo limits or skip MI.
  • Anyone who wants a standby line for opportunities and emergencies — costs nothing until drawn.

Straight answers

A cash-out refinance replaces your whole first mortgage — and its rate. A HELOC sits behind your existing mortgage, so your low first-mortgage rate stays exactly where it is and you only pay interest on what you draw.

Most programs allow borrowing up to roughly 80–90% of your home's value combined across the first mortgage and the line. The calculator on this page runs your numbers.

A line opened at purchase, behind the first mortgage. Buyers use it to keep the first loan under the conforming limit, to avoid mortgage insurance, or to bridge a down payment until other funds free up.

HELOC rates are typically variable (tied to prime). Some programs allow fixing the rate on drawn balances. If predictability matters most, we compare it against a fixed home-equity loan.

Typically nothing or close to it — that's why many homeowners open one as a standby line before they need it.

Your loan officer

Brett Hickman

Home First Financial

Brett Hickman

Mortgage Loan Originator · NMLS #2010859

+19493508005

Text Brett to check eligibility →