Best bank for Heloc

[shmaltz]

Santander is no longer originating HELOCs.  Any other suggestions (not a credit union)?

Citizens bank offers the standard HELOC rate at prime (-.25 for using their bank), with no fees at any point. They can also approve quickly.

[Thrifty]

Citizens bank offers the standard HELOC rate at prime (-.25 for using their bank), with no fees at any point. They can also approve quickly.

Thank you!  We just submitted our application to Citizens Bank.  Appreciate your help!

[Help]

Any bank allow a HELOC in 3rd position?

[Help]

Any bank allow a HELOC in 3rd position?

I see that FIGURE offers 3rd position. Anyone with experience with this lender?

[ExGingi]

Does anyone have experience with BMO?

They seem to have a low intro rate for 6 months, maximum line $1MM, 85% LTV.

Also does anyone know DTI requirements for HELOCs with various banks?

[Help]

Has anyone done research into HELOC lately?
Which bank offers the highest LTV and DTI, and lowest rates?

[ExGingi]

Has anyone done research into HELOC lately?
Which bank offers the highest LTV and DTI, and lowest rates?

I did some research.

Citizen's seems to be most aggressive in the HELOC market. Their rates aren't the lowest. But with an excellent credit score, they can offer large lines, with no closing costs, 65%!!! DTI (to figure DTI they add 2% to the stated rate and use a 15-year amortization on the line), and LTVs that can go up to 80% or even 85% (depending on credit worthiness and line size).

TD Bank up to $500k is quite competitive, $99 closing costs. IINM their rates might even go lower than Citizen's. DTI 49% (add 3% to stated HELOC rate and use 20-year amortization).

For lines up to $300k Third Federal S&L (CLE based) offers the most competitive rate, but their underwriting is quite conservative. 70% LTV. 36% DTI (I don't know if they pad and use amortization to calculate the HELOC within DTI).

PNC might be decent in some areas, but their closing costs on larger lines can be high IIRC.

In theory, BMO might be very competitive. IIRC they have a 6-month intro of 6.99%, however, I couldn't get through to a human being to go through their underwriting, costs and availability.

[Help]

I did some research.

Citizen's seems to be most aggressive in the HELOC market. Their rates aren't the lowest. But with an excellent credit score, they can offer large lines, with no closing costs, 65%!!! DTI (to figure DTI they add 2% to the stated rate and use a 15-year amortization on the line), and LTVs that can go up to 80% or even 85% (depending on credit worthiness and line size).

TD Bank up to $500k is quite competitive, $99 closing costs. IINM their rates might even go lower than Citizen's. DTI 49% (add 3% to stated HELOC rate and use 20-year amortization).

For lines up to $300k Third Federal S&L (CLE based) offers the most competitive rate, but their underwriting is quite conservative. 70% LTV. 36% DTI (I don't know if they pad and use amortization to calculate the HELOC within DTI).

PNC might be decent in some areas, but their closing costs on larger lines can be high IIRC.

In theory, BMO might be very competitive. IIRC they have a 6-month intro of 6.99%, however, I couldn't get through to a human being to go through their underwriting, costs and availability.

Thanks very much. This is very informative. Let me analyze this.

[ExGingi]

Thanks very much. This is very informative. Let me analyze this.

Forgot to mention (it is mentioned up thread) that Citizens HELOC is 10yr draw (interest only) followed by 15 year amortization. 10 and 20 is common with other banks. IINM PNC is 10 and 30!

My question to anyone with experience (@shmaltz) is how/where do they get the home value from?

Using various online tools (Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com, Chase) my home value is anywhere between 1.4MM to just over 2MM.

[Help]

My question to anyone with experience (@shmaltz) is how/where do they get the home value from?

I did a pre-qualification with Citizens (soft inquiry) and received an offer. The agent also told me how much they valued my home.
So, if your question is how they come to that valuation, I have no idea. But if you just want to know how much they will value your home, I guess you can do the pre-qual.

[AsherO]

So, if your question is how they come to that valuation, I have no idea. But if you just want to know how much they will value your home, I guess you can do the pre-qual.

If they aren’t doing an appraisal then I guess they’re using some sorta public records-/comps-based algorithm from a 3rd party (something like Zillow’s Zestimate), in which case you might be at the mercy of their vendor for valuation.

[ExGingi]

I did a pre-qualification with Citizens (soft inquiry) and received an offer. The agent also told me how much they valued my home.
So, if your question is how they come to that valuation, I have no idea. But if you just want to know how much they will value your home, I guess you can do the pre-qual.

Could you compare that valuation with any/all of the tools mentioned to see which is closest?

[AsherO]

Could you compare that valuation with any/all of the tools mentioned to see which is closest?

I doubt there’s such a tool out there. It probably cost them to generate the valuation, so they advertise their other terms and have you “pre-qualify” so they have you engaged before incurring that expense.

[ExGingi]

I doubt there’s such a tool out there. It probably cost them to generate the valuation, so they advertise their other terms and have you “pre-qualify” so they have you engaged before incurring that expense.

I actually had quite a lengthy conversation with a Citizens rep. He explained me their business philosophy. He claims they are the biggest lender in the HELOC space, and offer no closing cost and various other incentives in order to grow the book. Their target is around 30% utilization IIRC.

The tools are out there, I mentioned them above: Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com, Chase and more. I just wonder which one is closest to whatever Citizens uses. They all use PUBLICLY available data.

[shapsam]

I actually had quite a lengthy conversation with a Citizens rep. He explained me their business philosophy. He claims they are the biggest lender in the HELOC space, and offer no closing cost and various other incentives in order to grow the book. Their target is around 30% utilization IIRC.

The tools are out there, I mentioned them above: Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com, Chase and more. I just wonder which one is closest to whatever Citizens uses. They all use PUBLICLY available data.

In my case, they are the closest to the Zillow estimate which was the highest of the 3 (didn't check Chase). Possibly the exact estimate but rounded to the nearest 5k.

[ExGingi]

In my case, they are the closest to the Zillow estimate which was the highest of the 3 (didn't check Chase). Possibly the exact estimate but rounded to the nearest 5k.

My home:
Zillow - $1,419,500
Redfin - $1,549,201
Chase - $2,030,700 (Starting point) $2,066,700 (after updating number of bedrooms and bathrooms).

https://propertyclub.nyc/article/best-home-value-estimator

Re/MAX gives a few:

[Help]

Could you compare that valuation with any/all of the tools mentioned to see which is closest?

Redfin: 635k
Realtor: 613k
Chase: 619k

Citizens: 630k

[ExGingi]

Redfin: 635k
Realtor: 613k
Chase: 619k

Citizens: 630k

That's a 3.5% difference between highest and lowest, compared to over 40% difference in my case.

[sruly101]

Hi,

Im trying now to apply for a HELOC with Citizen, as of now the APR they are offering me is 9.90% to me it sounds bad, is it that bad?

Great credit score, just to mention my appraisal came in really lower then actual value.

Just curios where is 9.90% APR in the current market of HELOC's

[ExGingi]

Hi,

Im trying now to apply for a HELOC with Citizen, as of now the APR they are offering me is 9.90% to me it sounds bad, is it that bad?

Great credit score, just to mention my appraisal came in really lower then actual value.

Just curios where is 9.90% APR in the current market of HELOC's

How big is the line?

I was told that with a credit score around 800 and a large line (not sure where the cutoff is, as I was asking about $1MM) the base rate could be 9.65%. There are promos that would knock off 0.25, 0.50 or 0.75. I guess that might include 0.25% for auto-pay (possibly with a Citizens checking account).

I guess the days of HELOC @prime are gone (with some that used to offer Prime - a small margin, such as 0.24-0.50). As I mentioned above you could get at prime or below from banks with tougher lending standards. If all you need is a line up to 300k with up to 36% DTI and 70% LTV, you can currently get 7.99% from Third Federal S&L. BMO has a 6.99% promo for first 6 months. I'm not sure what it is after the promo.

Of note: if you have a taxable account with IBKR their margin rates on a pro account are currently under 7%. You obviously need equity to back up the loan.