Best home equity loan lenders of March 2023

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A home equity loan is a type of second mortgage that lets you take equity out of your home to use for things like home renovations, debt consolidation, or other major expenses.

Our top home equity loan lenders have no fees, high customer ratings, and are available across the US. They also allow higher combined loan-to-value ratios (CLTVs), meaning borrowers with less equity in their homes can still qualify for a loan.

Note: Home equity loan lenders typically like to see a maximum CLTV between 80% and 90%, but it varies. A loan-to-value ratio (LTV) is the ratio of how much you owe on your mortgage versus what your house is worth. If your house is worth $500,000 and you still owe $200,000, your LTV is 40%. A combined loan-to-value ratio (CLTV) includes all of the loans you have on your property, including first and second mortgages.

Best overall home equity loan lender

The bottom line: US Bank is a strong lender overall for home equity loans, with no closing costs, a wide range of loan amounts, and a discount for existing customers.

This lender offers home equity loan amounts from $15,000 to $750,000, which is a wider range than what many other lenders offer. You can get a loan with a term up to 30 years.

If you have a US Bank checking or savings account, you could get a 0.5% rate discount if you set up automatic payments.

Best overall runner-up: Navy Federal Credit Union

The bottom line: Navy Federal Credit Union is a great home equity loan lender for those who qualify for a Navy Federal membership. It offers competitive rates, a good selection of term lengths, and no fees.

This lender is a strong option for VA loan borrowers, who might not have a ton of equity built up if they put 0% down on their home when they purchased it. It also has good online customer reviews.

Navy Federal is our "best overall" runner-up because, while it's a very strong lender overall, you have to be a member of Navy Federal Credit Union to get a loan with this lender. To qualify, you need to be a member of the military, a veteran, a family member of someone who has served, or a Department of Defense civilian. 

Best for lower credit scores: Discover

The bottom line: Discover is an affordable home equity loan lender that accepts borrowers with scores of at least 620, which is lower than what many other lenders require. Typically, lenders look for scores of at least 680, though some require scores above 700.

Discover offers home equity loans with 10-, 15-, 20-, and 30-year terms and loan amounts from $35,000 to $300,000.

You won't pay any closing costs with this lender. However, if you pay off your loan within three years, you'll have to reimburse Discover for some of the closing costs, up to $500. This fee doesn't apply if you live in Connecticut, Minnesota, North Carolina, New York, Oklahoma, or Texas.

Best for large loan amounts: Flagstar Bank

The bottom line: Flagstar Bank is a good option for borrowers who need larger loan amounts, since you can get a home equity loan for up to $1 million.

If you qualify, you can get a home equity loan from Flagstar for any amount between $10,000 and $1 million. It also charges no lender fees, though you still may need to pay some third-party fees at closing.

If you have a bank account with Flagstar, you could potentially get a 0.25% rate discount if you set up automatic loan payments from your account. 

Best for small loan amounts: Connexus Credit Union

The bottom line: Connexus Credit Union offers smaller loan amounts, shorter terms, and a higher max CLTV, making it an affordable choice for borrowers looking to fund smaller projects or keep their interest costs down.

With Connexus Credit Union, borrowers can get a home equity loan with a term of just five years with loan amounts as low as $5,000. If you want to limit your overall interest costs, a shorter term is often a good choice because you'll spend less time paying back the loan. 

Connexus doesn't disclose whether it charges its own closing fees, but says borrower closing costs can range from $175 to $2,000.

Other home equity loan lenders we considered

• Northpointe Home Equity Loan: Northpointe is one of our best mortgage lenders, but it doesn't provide information on the requirements or features that come with its home equity options.
• Rocket Mortgage Home Equity Loan: Rocket Mortgage is our favorite lender for refinancing, but it doesn't disclose rates or other information for its home equity loans.
• TD Bank Home Equity Loan: This lender's home equity loan offerings aren't available in most states.
• New American Funding HELOC: Regions is a solid home equity loan lender, but it's only available in certain states.

Methodology: How we chose the best home equity loan lenders for 2023

We looked at the top mortgage lenders in the US that offer home equity loans. We then evaluated them based on four main criteria:

• Affordability. We evaluated home equity loan affordability based on rates, fees, and max CLTV. When looking at rates, we looked at both the lender's current advertised APR and, where available, its minimum and maximum APR. For fees, we looked at whether the lender charges any application or closing fees. Home equity loans typically come with some third-party closing costs, but some lenders will also charge their own fees, as well. All of our top picks say they don't charge lender closing costs, with the exception of Connexus, which doesn't disclose whether it charges any additional fees.
• Customer satisfaction. We looked at online customer reviews to gauge how satisfied customers are with each lender.
• Trustworthiness. Three of our top picks have an A+ rating from the BBB. The two that don't are Navy Federal Credit Union, which has an NR ("No Rating"), and US Bank, which doesn't currently have a rating listed. We also considered any recent public scandals from the last three years.
• Availability. Some lenders only offer home equity loans in certain states, so we looked at where each lender offers home equity loans. All of our picks lend in most states, and typically only have one or two states where they don't lend.

Are these home equity loan lenders trustworthy?

The Better Business Bureau grades companies based on responses to customer complaints, honesty in advertising, and transparency about business practices. Here are the BBB grades for our top home equity loan lenders:

All but two of our top picks have A+ rating from the BBB.

Navy Federal Credit Union has an NR, or "No Rating" because it's currently responding to previously closed customer complaints. US Bank has a B+ rating due to government action against the business.

In 2020, US Bank paid the US government $200 million when it was accused of approving FHA loans for mortgage insurance even though either a) borrowers didn't meet requirements for FHA loans, or b) US Bank didn't check their credit scores. In 2022, US Bank settled allegations from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that it illegally accessed customer credit reports and opened accounts without customer permission. 

In 2020, a Navy Federal employee claimed the lender pressured mortgage underwriters to approve loans even if they didn't have sufficient reason to believe applicants could repay the loans. She filed a lawsuit and said Navy Federal retaliated against her whistleblowing, but she dropped the case in late 2020.

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