In a Nutshell
pros
- Helps borrowers compare lenders
- Works with 100+ lenders
- Takes less than 1 minute to see results
cons
- Not a direct mortgage lender
- No educational tools or resources
Home Equity Survey at a Glance
Loan types | Home equity |
Featured Loans | Home equity loans and cash-out refinance |
Repayment terms | Varies |
Minimum Down Payment | N/A |
Minimum Credit Score | Varies |
Suitable for | Finding and comparing home equity loans |
Overview
The Home Equity Survey exists for one purpose only: to match homeowners with selected lenders offering home equity loans or cash-out refinancing. It is owned and operated by LeadPoint, a California-based company that has built a network of more than 130 partnering lenders.
Suitable For?
This service could prove useful for anyone thinking of using their home equity to borrow money. It takes just a minute to fill out The Home Equity Survey’s short online survey and find out which lender is the right match for you.
Types of Loans
The Home Equity Survey matches homeowners with a number of loans related to home equity and home ownership. Loan characteristics vary from lender to lender, with each lender setting their own APRs, terms, minimum credit scores, and other eligibility requirements.
Here’s what you can find through The Home Equity Survey:
Home Equity Loan (HEL): Also known as a second mortgage, this is a type of loan that lets you borrow against your home equity.
Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC): This is an alternative type of HEL that acts as a line of credit, with the borrower able to withdraw money up to a pre-agreed credit limit.
Cash-out Refinance: A type of mortgage refi whereby the borrower can convert the surplus into a cash loan.
Home Insurance: Depending how you fill out the form, you may see offers for home insurance alongside offers for home equity loans and cash-out refinance.
The Application Process
Using The Home Equity Survey is simple and really only requires 1-2 minutes of your time. First, select the purpose of your loan from a choice of home improvement, paying off credit cards, paying off student loans, taking a vacation, or getting extra cash. Then, answer whether you’re a homeowner, and select your level of credit, give an estimate of your home’s current value and how much you still owe, and enter your current interest rate and type of mortgage. Finally, enter your contact details, including zip code. On the final screen you’ll see which lender you’ve been matched with, along with a message stating that the lender will contact you soon.
Once the lender gets in touch with you, you’ll need to complete a new application process to finalize the details of your loan.
Pros and Cons
There are clear pros and cons to using this service. The main pro is that it’s free to use and it takes only a minute to use this service. At the end you get matched with one or more lenders offering competitive rates on home equity loans or cash-out refinancing.
The downside is that this is all The Home Equity Survey does. It doesn’t offer any transparency about how its service works. Given it has a large network of partners, it’s reasonable to assume that its customers receive multiple phone calls after filling out the form – you won’t only hear from the one lender with which you’ve been matched.
Some consumers are happy to receive multiple phone calls because it helps them to compare loan offers. Others don’t like being bombarded with calls. As long as you know what you’re in for, this service could be useful.
Rates and Fees – The Bare Basics
The Home Equity Survey works with multiple lenders, each of which sets its own rates and fees. Like any search tool, this service can be useful if you’re looking for low rates.
Repayment Terms
As above, this service works with multiple lenders, each of which determines its own repayment terms.
Help & Support
This is a purely online service with non-existent customer service. The Home Equity Survey website doesn’t offer any contact details, except for a direct contact form. The website doesn’t even say anything about who operates the service. Luckily for you, we did a bit of digging through the terms and conditions and found that it is operated by California company LeadPoint, Inc. operating under the name of Secure Rights. LeadPoint, Inc. is listed on the Better Business Bureau website along with the following phone number: 310-209-8600.
Summary
If you’re looking for a home equity loan or cash-out refinance, The Home Equity Survey can be a useful place to start. However, don’t expect anything more from this platform. It doesn’t offer anything in the way of tools or resources and it doesn’t provide any customer service.
The Home Equity Survey FAQ
Q: Who operates The Home Equity Survey?
A: The Home Equity Survey doesn’t answer this clearly, but we dug around and found that it is owned and operated by Secure Rights, itself a brand name of California-based LeadPoint, Inc.
Q: Does the service cost any money?
A: No, it’s free to use The Home Equity Survey. Of course, the usual lender rates and fees will apply if you end up taking a loan from one of its partnering lenders.
Q: What does The Home Equity Survey do with my contact details?
A: The Home Equity Survey shares your details with the lender it matched you with. It may also share your details with other partners in its network, so expect to have the phone ring multiple times in the 24-48 hours after filling out this online form.
Physical Address
LeadPoint, Inc. DBA Secure Rights
2045 S Barrington Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90025
