Most people call a lender before they know their own numbers. Do it the other way around.
Buying, refinancing, or pulling cash out of a home you already own — answer nine questions and see where you actually stand before you hand anyone your phone number. Then talk to one licensed professional in your state.
Why this is different
The reason your phone rings for a week
Apply for a mortgage anywhere and your information can reach dozens of companies within a day. It's a known problem — one former mortgage-association president described borrowers getting more than a hundred texts, calls and emails in the first 24 hours. Congress restricted the worst of it in March 2026. Here's where we stand.
What actually changed
When a lender pulls your credit, the bureaus used to be allowed to sell that fact — a "trigger lead" — to any company that wanted to call you. The Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act took effect March 5, 2026 and bars that, except for companies you already do business with or ones you've given written permission. It doesn't cover everything: prescreened offers and non-mortgage products like credit cards and auto loans are still fair game. But the worst of it is now illegal.
We have never bought or sold trigger leads. Your information goes to the one licensed professional matched to your state, named on our partners page before you consent, and nowhere else.
| The big comparison sites | Home Loan Matters | |
|---|---|---|
| Who calls you | Up to five lenders, often within minutes of each other — plus whoever buys the data downstream | One licensed professional in your state |
| What you get back | Nothing until someone reaches you | Your equity estimate on screen, before you give a phone number |
| Tools | A payment calculator, if any | Equity, debt-consolidation, and FHA mortgage-insurance calculators — free, no email required |
| Who they are | A lead marketplace paid by lenders for placement | An advertising and referral service — never a lender, and we say so everywhere |
Free tools · no email required
Run your own numbers first
Nothing here asks who you are. Every figure below is calculated from numbers you type in, and no rate, payment, or loan is being offered to you on this page.
How much equity can I actually reach?
Lenders limit how much of your home's value can be borrowed against, expressed as combined loan-to-value. The three bands above show common limits. Which one applies to you — if any — depends on the lender, your credit, your income, and an appraisal. These figures are illustrative and are not an offer, approval, or commitment to lend.
What is my credit card debt actually costing me?
Read this part. Moving unsecured debt onto your house lowers the interest rate but changes what happens if you can't pay — a credit card company can sue you, a mortgage lender can foreclose. Stretching a balance over a longer term can also mean paying more in total even at a lower rate. The comparison rate above is one you typed, not one offered to you; no rate, payment, or loan term is being offered on this page. Talk to a licensed professional before acting on any of this.
FHA mortgage insurance — what is it costing me?
FHA loans taken out on or after June 3, 2013 with less than 10% down carry mortgage insurance for the life of the loan — it does not fall off at 20% equity the way conventional PMI does. The only way out is refinancing into a conventional loan, which generally requires about 20% equity. Whether that trade makes sense depends on today's rates versus your current rate, your closing costs, and how long you'll stay. This calculator shows the insurance cost only; it is not an offer or a recommendation to refinance.
How it works
Three steps, and you control the last one
You answer, we estimate
About nine questions on your property and your goal. No Social Security number and no documents at this stage. Your equity estimate appears before we ever ask for a phone number.
We route, we don't resell
Your ZIP tells us which state you're in. We hand your answers to one licensed professional who works there — named on our partners page, before you consent.
They call. You decide.
Usually within a business day. They go through what's actually available on your property. If nothing makes sense for you, a good one says so — and you're done.
Learn
The three things people get wrong
Most of what stops homeowners from making a good decision is one piece of missing information. These are the three we see most.
You don't have to refinance to reach your equity
The fear that stops most people with a low rate is the belief that touching equity means giving that rate up. A second-lien product leaves the first mortgage exactly where it is.
The FHA refinance that has nothing to do with rates
If you put less than 10% down on an FHA loan after June 2013, you're paying mortgage insurance for the life of the loan. Rising values may have already handed you the exit.
Two documents are called a pre-approval. Only one wins
One takes four minutes and verifies nothing. The other has already been through an underwriter. Listing agents can tell the difference at a glance.
Why minimum payments barely move the balance
It isn't a discipline problem. At typical card rates most of a minimum payment is interest by design. Here's the arithmetic, and the honest risks of moving that debt onto your house.
HELOC or home equity loan — the actual difference
One is a credit line you draw from with a rate that moves. The other is a lump sum at a fixed rate. Which fits depends far more on what you're doing with it than on the rate.
How much house you can afford isn't one number
What a lender approves and what you should spend are different figures, and the gap between them is where people get into trouble.
Article pages are drafted next — these are the six that ship first.
Questions
Before you give anyone your number
Is this actually free?
Yes, to you. There is no fee for using this site, the calculators, or being connected to a professional. We're paid by the licensed professionals we refer people to — that's how the service is funded, and you should know it going in.
How many people are going to call me?
One. That's the main thing that makes this different from the large comparison sites, which sell a single consumer to as many as five lenders at once. Everyone who may contact you is named on our partners page before you consent, and you can stop contact any time by replying STOP or asking to be removed.
What credit score do I need?
For home equity — a HELOC or a cash-out refinance — lenders generally start at 620, and the terms don't get genuinely good until around 680. Below 620 there usually isn't a product to offer, no matter who you call.
Buying is different. Some purchase programs go down to 580, and conventional financing wants 620 or better. So a score that rules you out for equity may still work for a purchase.
These are general industry ranges, not a decision about you. Individual lenders set their own floors and some go lower. If your estimate puts you under the line, we'll tell you on the spot instead of taking your number.
Does this pull my credit?
Not on this site. Nothing here — the quiz or the calculators — touches your credit, and the estimate you see is built from numbers you typed in yourself.
The lender is a different story. If you decide to move forward with the professional we connect you to, they will pull your credit, because no one can offer real terms without it. That's a hard inquiry and it can move your score a few points. They'll ask your permission first, and you can stop at any point before that.
We'd rather you hear that from us now than be surprised on the phone.
Are you a lender?
No. Home Loan Matters is an advertising and consumer-referral service. We don't make loans, take applications, set rates, or make credit decisions, and we aren't affiliated with any government agency. Everything you're eventually offered comes from a licensed third party.
Is the equity number you show me real?
It's real arithmetic on the numbers you typed — your estimate of your home's value, minus what you told us you owe, against a typical lending limit. It is not an appraisal and not an offer. A lender will reach its own figure after a full review, and it may differ from this one in either direction.
What do you do with my information?
We send it to the licensed professional matched to your state so they can contact you, and we keep a record of the consent you gave, including the exact wording, the time, and the IP address. We don't sell your information to parties outside the partners list. You can ask us to delete it.
Should I borrow against my house to pay off credit cards?
Sometimes — and it's a real decision, not a free one. The interest rate is usually much lower, which is the appeal. But you're converting debt a card company could sue you over into debt secured by your home, and stretching a balance over a longer term can cost more in total even at a lower rate. Anyone who tells you it's all upside is selling. Run the numbers in the calculator above, then talk to someone licensed.