Home Equity Investment Cost Estimator
Updated October 2026
A Home Equity Investment (HEI) — also called a home equity agreement or shared-appreciation agreement — is a way to access your home equity as a lump sum of cash without taking on debt or making monthly payments. In exchange, an investor (companies like Point, Hometap, Unlock, Unison, and Splitero) receives a share of your home’s future value when you sell, refinance, or reach the end of the term (typically 10–30 years).1 This calculator estimates what you’ll actually owe at settlement and the effective annual cost, so you can compare an HEI head-to-head against a HELOC or cash-out refinance.
The mechanics confuse almost everyone, because the investor’s "share" is not the same as the percentage of cash you receive. Most HEI providers apply a risk adjustment (also called a discount) to your home’s current value before calculating their share. If your home is worth $500,000 and the provider applies a 20% risk adjustment, their share is calculated against a $400,000 "adjusted value." Taking $50,000 in cash then equals a 12.5% appreciation share ($50,000 ÷ $400,000), not 10%.2
| Term | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Risk adjustment | A discount (often 15–25%) the investor applies to your current value to protect against overvaluation and selling costs. |
| Appreciation share | The percentage of your home’s future gain the investor keeps — derived from the cash you take divided by the adjusted value. |
| Settlement | What you repay: the original cash plus the investor’s share of appreciation, sometimes subject to a cap. |
| Cap | A ceiling on the investor’s annualized return (not all providers offer one). |
There are two structures in the market. The share-of-appreciation model (Point, Unison) gives the investor your original cash plus a percentage of only the gain in value. The share-of-home-value model (some Hometap and Unlock agreements) gives the investor a percentage of your home’s total future value, which can cost dramatically more if your home appreciates strongly. This calculator models the appreciation-share approach, the most common consumer structure. Always confirm which model your specific offer uses.3
An HEI’s biggest advantage is no monthly payment and shared downside — if your home loses value, the investor shares the loss. Its biggest risk is cost in a strong appreciation market: a home that doubles can make the investor’s share far more expensive than loan interest would have been. A HELOC or cash-out refinance has predictable interest but requires monthly payments and qualification on income and credit. Run all three and compare the effective APR this calculator produces against current loan rates.4
HEIs tend to work best for homeowners who are equity-rich but cash-flow-constrained — retirees, self-employed people who can’t easily document income, or those carrying high-interest debt who can’t qualify for a traditional loan. Because there’s no monthly payment, an HEI doesn’t strain a tight budget. They tend to work against you when your local market is appreciating rapidly, because the investor’s slice of that appreciation grows with it. Most providers require you to retain 20–25% equity and have a minimum credit score, though the bar is lower than for a HELOC.1
The single most important thing to understand about an HEI is that your cost rises with your home’s success. Suppose you take $50,000 against a $500,000 home with a 12.5% appreciation share. If the home grows 4% a year, after 10 years it’s worth about $740,000, the appreciation is $240,000, and the investor’s share is roughly $30,000 — a reasonable 4.8% effective APR. But if the home grows 7% a year, it’s worth nearly $984,000, the appreciation is $484,000, and the investor’s share jumps to about $60,000 — pushing the effective APR above 8%. The faster your home appreciates, the more an HEI costs relative to a fixed-rate loan. This is why running your own numbers, rather than relying on a provider’s illustration, matters so much.
→ Run multiple appreciation scenarios. Your cost rises with your home’s value, so model 3%, 5%, and 7% appreciation before signing. An HEI that looks cheap at 3% can become expensive at 7%. The effective APR figure is the number to compare against loan rates.
→ Confirm which pricing model your offer uses. Share-of-appreciation and share-of-home-value agreements price very differently. A share-of-total-value deal can cost far more in a strong market. Ask the provider to state the model explicitly in writing.
→ Compare the effective APR to a HELOC. An HEI’s "no monthly payment" appeal can mask a high effective cost. Take the effective APR this calculator produces and compare it to current rates with our HELOC Calculator before deciding.
→ Watch the equity-retention requirement. Most providers require you to keep 20–25% equity after the investment. If you have an existing mortgage, that limits how much cash you can access. Factor in your current home equity first.