Pros, Cons, and How Much It Can Cost You

Most homeowners start looking at Hometap for one reason. They need cash and want a way to access it without taking on another monthly payment.

Home equity sharing offers exactly that. You receive money upfront, and there is no interest rate to track or loan to repay each month.

This review breaks down how the agreement works in plain English, what you can expect to pay, the situations where Hometap can make sense, and the risks that deserve close attention.

The goal is to give you a clear understanding of the product so you can decide whether it fits your situation.

Hometap lets you tap into your home equity for cash without taking on a monthly loan payment.

To do this, the company invests an agreed-upon amount in your home in exchange for that proportion of its future value.

This is not a home equity loan. When you sell your home, you pay this percentage of the sale price back to Hometap. 

Imagine you have a $500,000 home and strike a deal with Hometap to secure $50,000 (10% of your equity) in upfront funds. Then, 10 years later, you sell that home. 

Below are two potential outcomes of that situation based on hypothetical housing markets:

Hometap investments have maximum terms of 10 years. If you don't sell your home within that time frame, you'll pay back the initial investment (based on your home's appraised value 10 years from the date of the investment) through another source of funds, such as your savings or a home equity loan.

You could be forced to sell if you are unable to obtain the necessary funds to pay off Hometap at the ten-year mark.

Also, note that you're not simply exchanging the percentage of your home's value that Hometap invests for an equal percentage of your home's future value. i.e., you give Hometap 10% now for 10% when you sell.

Hometap earns a larger share, and the longer you stay in your home, the bigger that percentage becomes. For example, if Hometap invests 10% of your home's value upfront, you'll owe them:

• 15% if you settle in 0-3 years
• 17.8% if you settle in 4-6 years
• 20% if you settle in 7-10 years

These percentages can vary based on the specific terms of your agreement and how much of your home's value Hometap invests. But the key takeaway is that Hometap's share of your home's future value grows the longer the agreement lasts.

There are no interest payments or monthly fees with Hometap. As such, you don't need to concern yourself with interest rates, as you would with a standard HELOC.

However, it should go without saying that Hometap is not a free service. 

As noted in the previous section, you agree to pay Hometap a portion of your home's future value. So when calculating the costs of this arrangement, you have to think about how much you'll owe relative to the amount you received, not the total proceeds. 

Continuing our previous example, let's say your home is worth $500,000 today and you use Hometap to secure $50,000 in upfront funding. 

If your home appreciated by 2% a year for 10 years, its total value would be $609,497. In that case, you'd owe Hometap $121,899 (based on their on-site calculator). 

While you don't pay interest to Hometap, we can calculate the equivalent annual interest rate on a $50,000 loan, which amounts to $121,899 paid back in 10 years. This rate would be about 9.34%, giving you a clearer picture of the cost of the arrangement over time.

In addition to costs outlined above, there are a few fees to be aware of.

For one, Hometap charges 3.5% of your investment amount — taken out of your initial proceeds — as a closing fee. 

Note: The fee was changed from 3% to 3.5% on June 20th, 2024. Despite the change, our calculations throughout this article show a 3% fee.

You also need to factor in the following third-party fees (which are not included in our example, as the specific numbers can vary):

• Home appraisal: $300 to $450, on average.
• Title charge: about $700 to $800, on average.
• Government filing: about $350 to $1,000, on average.

Let's return to our $500,000 home example. This time, let's say we got a home equity loan for $50,000 with an 8% fixed interest rate. Here's how that breaks down:

• Initial home value: $500,000
• Loan amount: $50,000
• Loan interest rate: 8%
• Monthly payment: $606.64
• Total paid at the end of 10-year term: $72,796.80

As you can see, assuming the home appreciates at 2%, a home equity loan at 8% interest would save you $49,102.20 over 10 years compared to the Hometap arrangement.

Of course, this assumes you can qualify for a home equity loan and make the required monthly payments.

Many homeowners interested in home equity sharing may not qualify for a home equity loan due to credit score requirements, debt-to-income ratios, or other factors. So, alternative options like credit cards or bankruptcy are being considered as alternatives to a home equity share agreement.

Hometap doesn't share in any home value changes directly attributable to renovations.

That means if your home value increases by $25,000 or more due to renovations, you can request that Hometap give you a renovation adjustment to exclude that figure from their settlement calculation. 

To do this, you'll need to get a new property appraisal. You'll also need to hold onto receipts associated with (and photographs of) the renovations, amongst other requirements.

Let's look at an example…

Say you have a $500,000 home and get $50,000 from Hometap. Due to market forces, your home appreciates to $609,497 over 10 years. Additionally, you renovate your kitchen, which adds another $50,000 to your home's value, bringing the market value of your home to $659,497.

You would then request a renovation adjustment from Hometap at the time of settlement, provide the necessary evidence, and get your property appraised.

Your $50,000 renovation appreciation would be excluded from the final calculation, so Hometap's share is based on $609,497, not $659,497.

Note that your renovations will not be excluded from the agreement if they do not add at least $25,000 in additional value.

Application Process and Eligibility

The process for getting cash from Hometap is fairly straightforward.

First, you request an estimate to see if you pre-qualify. They'll ask for some information about you and your property. This part can take a few minutes.

Hometap will then prepare an investment estimate using your information. You'll also gain access to a dedicated investment manager to help you throughout the entire process.

If you like the terms Hometap provides, you'll fill out a short online application. After that, Hometap orders an appraisal of your home and uses the appraised value to put together your final offer. 

Accept the offer, schedule the closing, close on the deal, and Hometap wires your funds to your bank account within a few days.

To qualify, your property must be a single-family home, condominium, apartment, or a multi-family home with 1–4 units, located in a state where Hometap operates.

Hometap is available in the following states as of August 2025.

• Arizona
• California
• Florida
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Nevada
• New York
• New Jersey
• North Carolina
• Ohio
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Utah
• Virginia

Hometap doesn't have hard requirements for credit score or equity because they evaluate each property independently. However, most of their applicants have scores of at least 600 and hold 25% or more equity in their property.

How Much Cash You Can Get

Hometap can invest up to 25% of your home's value, with a maximum dollar figure of $600,000. 

To determine your home's value, Hometap sends a third-party appraisal company to your home. Upon settling the investment, Hometap sends another appraiser to determine the final value.

By using third-party appraisers both times, Hometap minimizes the potential conflict of interest of under-appraising the property to claim more appreciation.

Let's look at the highlights and drawbacks of Hometap.

Hometap Pros

• No monthly payment. You receive cash without constricting your budget.
• Straightforward process. The application takes under 10 minutes, and you can receive funding in as little as two weeks.
• No firm credit requirement. Hometap says that most of their successful applicants have a credit score over 600, but they don't have a hard minimum to qualify.
• No upfront credit impact. Pre-qualification does not involve a hard inquiry, though one may be performed following a successful application submission.

Hometap Cons

• 10-year limit. If you don't sell your home in 10 years, you'll have to pay back the investment with another source of funds (such as your savings). Long-term homeowners should be careful.
• Forced sale risk. If you can't pay back the invested amount when the term is up, you could be forced to sell your home.
• Increased payout from your home's appreciation. If your home substantially increases in value, the cost can still be significant relative to how much you received upfront, though Hometap caps the amount owed at a pro-rated 20% annual return on the investment amount.
• Availability. Not available in all states.

Learn more about these and other considerations in our guide to the pros and cons of home equity sharing agreements.

Hometap has three main competitors.

• Point. Point offers much longer terms of 30 years (which could be positive or negative depending on how you use your funds), with servicing fees ranging from 3% to 5%. You can access up to $600,000, depending on your home's value and your equity. For a deeper dive, check out our detailed comparison of Hometap vs. Point.
• Unison. Unison also offers 30 year-terms, but the servicing fee is higher than Hometap's at 3.9%. They cap the amount of cash you can receive at $500,000, but you can only receive up to 17.5% of your home's value.
• Unlock. Has 10 year (max) terms with a low (500) minimum credit score. Unlock is the only company we've reviewed that allows for partial buyback of your agreement prior to the end of the term. For a deeper dive, check out our detailed comparison of Hometap vs. Unlock.
• Aspire. Aspire offers 15-year agreements. It also sets rate caps that limit your effective annual cost to 12% if you exit within three years and 18% over the lifetime of the contract. Aspire requires a higher minimum credit score of 660 and limits funding to 15% of your home's value, with a maximum of $250,000. The transaction fee is lower than Hometap's at 3%, but Aspire is currently available in just 10 states.
• Splitero. Offers agreements that align with the length of your mortgage — anywhere from 10 to 30 years. Splitero allows homeowners to access up to $500,000 with a minimum credit score of 500. Its annualized return is capped at 19.99%, which is higher than Aspire's or Hometap's structure, but still provides a defined worst-case cost. Splitero charges a 4.99% origination fee, plus third-party closing costs, and is available in a smaller set of states.

Learn more in our roundup of the best home equity investment companies.

Home equity share agreements are a very new way of using your home equity to obtain cash. 

Two thoughts I have are:

1. Using a home equity-sharing company like Hometap can seem attractive because it doesn't require monthly payments. However, as covered above, even with modest home appreciation of only 2% per year, the overall cost of a home equity agreement like Hometap is significantly higher than a home equity loan with an 8% interest rate. If you can qualify for a home equity loan, it's generally a much more cost-effective option in the long run despite the burden of monthly payments.
2. Your mortgage is the one bill that always gets paid monthly, no matter what. This is why, for most households, their primary residence is their largest asset. So, if you give up an equity stake in your home, what's your alternative plan to save money over the long term? Is it a 401(k)? An IRA? An HSA?

Overall, home equity agreements are not the cheapest way to receive a large upfront payment today.

Yet, they offer a means to access needed funds for homeowners who may not qualify for traditional loans due to credit issues or other financial constraints. When considering alternatives like carrying significant credit card debt into retirement, bankruptcy, or losing your home, home equity agreements become more viable options.

Learn more about Hometap.