Home equity lines of credit (HELOC) at your local bank can involve a lot of paperwork, approvals and time to fund. Figure Lending LLC (Figure) is looking to up the ante with quick applications and funding. But lower credit borrowers will be on the hook for high origination fees.
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Figure HELOC review
- Minimum credit score
- Primary home: 640
Secondary home: 680 - State availability
- Not available in: DE, HI, KY, NY, SC, WV
Our verdict
Get approved in minutes, but watch out for high origination fees.
If you need access to money fast, Figure's fully online application process has the quickest advertised turnaround time. You can get approved in five minutes and have your loan funded within days, rather than the typical weeks it takes to fund a home equity line of credit (HELOC).
But the program works more like a loan than a traditional HELOC, requiring you to draw the full amount you're approved for as a lump sum and only giving you access to a credit line as the amount is paid down. The lender also charges an origination fee, which can be as high as 4.99%.
Best for: Good credit borrowers seeking a fast turnaround, who don't mind drawing the entire amount at origination.
Pros
-
Offers a .25% interest rate discount for autopay
-
HELOCs with fixed rates
-
Fast funding in as few as five days
Cons
-
High origination fees
-
Short draw periods
-
Not available nationwide
Details
Features
| Loan products offered | HELOC |
| Minimum credit score | Primary home: 640 Secondary home: 680 |
| State availability | Not available in: DE, HI, KY, NY, SC, WV |
| NMLS # | 1717824 |
What makes Figure shine?
Figure’s speed is what makes it stand out from its competitors. Typically, HELOCs take anywhere from two to six weeks to fund. But Figure’s HELOC promises a turnaround in as few as five days.
Figure’s fixed rate is also a benefit, though it’s not entirely unique. Most traditional HELOCs come with a variable rate, like a credit card that increases and decreases along with the prime rate. But banks and other lenders have recently allowed borrowers to roll over portions, if not all, of what they’ve drawn on their HELOCs into fixed-rate loans. Figure’s HELOC rate is fixed from the start, with no variable-rate option.
Where Figure falls short
Rather than a traditional HELOC, Figure offers a kind of hybrid home equity loan and line of credit. Most HELOCs allow you to only draw what you need from the credit line when you need it. But with Figure, you are required to draw the entire amount of your credit line, and it’s only when you pay off a portion that a more traditional line of credit becomes available.
Once you’ve paid down a certain amount, you can draw out cash in increments of $500 or more from the amount you’ve paid off. A new interest rate is assigned to each additional draw, based on the prime rate at the time of the new draw.
And your draw time is limited. Where a traditional HELOC has a 10-year draw period and 20-year repayment period, you start repaying your HELOC right away. And your draw period is limited to 2-5 years, depending on the term of your loan.
This lender is not a good fit for people with less than excellent credit, which is typically 740 or higher. While most HELOC lenders waive closing costs or use them as prepayment penalties, Figure charges an escalating origination fee based on your FICO score and the state where you live.
People with lower credit scores can pay as much as 4.99% as an origination fee, which would make this HELOC one of the more expensive on the market. Depending on your state, you may also have the option to choose a higher origination fee in exchange for a lower APR.
Home equity products offered by Figure
Figure offers two ways to tap into your home’s equity.
- HELOC. A fixed-rate line of credit with terms of 5, 10, 15 and 30 years. You get the entire amount you qualified for up front, minus the origination fee, as a lump sum and start paying it back immediately. As you pay down the initial draw amount, you can draw additional amounts up to 100% of the loan amount during the draw period.But the draw periods are shorter than a more traditional HELOC. And your additional draws may have higher interest rates, because the rate for the new amount is fixed at the time of the draw. Here’s how it works:
- For 5-year terms, you have a 2-year draw period.
- For 10-year terms, you have a 3-year draw period.
- For 15-year terms, you have a 4-year draw period.
- For 30-year terms, you have a 5-year draw period.
For example, if you have a $20,000 HELOC at an 8% interest rate for 10 years and pay down $5,000 in the first year, you can continue to draw on that $5,000 and whatever else you pay down for the next two years.
But if you draw $2,000 in the second year, and interest rates have gone up, you could end up paying 8% interest on the remaining $15,000 of the original HELOC and 10% interest on the $2,000 draw.
- Cash-out mortgage refinance. Get a 15- or 30-year mortgage to replace your existing mortgage for more than what you owe on your home. The difference between the new mortgage amount and old one is the cash-out portion.
- 5-year terms have a 2-year draw period.
- 10-year terms have a 3-year draw period.
- 15-year terms have a 4-year draw period.
- 30-year terms have a 5-year draw period.
- Origination fee: 0%-4.99%
- Additional closing costs: None
- Annual fee: None
- Prepayment penalty: None
- Late fees: None
- Minimum credit score of 640 (720 in Oklahoma), and a minimum credit score of 680 for investment properties and vacation homes
- Debt-to-income ratio of less than 50% — or under 43%, in select cases
- At least two years of credit history and proof of employment
- Government-issued ID, such as a driver’s license, state ID or passport
- Proof of homeownership
- Proof of insurance
- Electronically signed mortgage document provided by an e-notary
- Proof of employment
- Go to the Figure website.
- Select Find my rate.
- Choose Home Equity Loan.
- Follow the prompts to complete the application. You’ll need to provide your Social Security number.
- Do not enter personal information (eg. surname, phone number, bank details) as your question will be made public
- finder.com is a financial comparison and information service, not a bank or product provider
- We cannot provide you with personal advice or recommendations
- Your answer might already be waiting – check previous questions below to see if yours has already been asked
Figure HELOC details
| Minimum credit score/credit range | Primary home: 640 Secondary home: 680 |
| Approval turnaround | Funding in as few as 5 days |
| Draw and repayment periods | |
| Availability | Not available in: DE, HI, KY, MD, NY, TX, WV |
| Fees |
How to qualify for a Figure HELOC
To apply for a Figure HELOC, you must meet these requirements:
As with most lenders, Figure also requires that you have no delinquencies on your current mortgage in the last six months, no foreclosures in the past five years and no bankruptcy in the last seven years.
Required documentation
Have these documents ready before you apply:
How to apply
You can apply for a Figure HELOC online.
If your loan is approved, a representative will reach out to schedule an e-notary session — if it’s available in your area. Otherwise, you’ll need to go into a Figure office to complete the paperwork. You must complete the process within 14 days or restart your application.
Compare interest rates for home equity loans, HELOCs and cash-out refinancing
Use our tool to get personalized estimated rates from top lenders based on your location and financial details. Select whether you’re looking for a Home Equity Loan, HELOC or Cash-Out Refinance.
If you selected a home equity loan or HELOC, enter your ZIP code, credit score and information about your current home to see your personalized rates.
In the Cash-Out Refinance tab, select Refinance and enter your ZIP code, credit score and other property details to see what you might qualify for.
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Figure reviews and complaints
| BBB accredited | No |
|---|---|
| BBB rating | A |
| BBB customer reviews | 1.59 out of 5 stars, based on 49 customer reviews |
| Trustpilot Score | 4.4 out of 5 stars, based on 2,097 customer reviews |
| Customer reviews verified as of | 22 March 2023 |
The majority of reviewers on Trustpilot give Figure an “excellent” or “great” rating and positive reviews. Many positive reviews highlight the company’s quickness, efficiency and excellent service. Some reviewers mention that the lender’s hassle-free process is worth its high-end origination fee.
Unsatisfied customers complain about getting denied after receiving an invitation to apply, lengthy waiting times to speak with a representative and poor customer service. Figure isn’t accredited with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and gets an A business rating, with a 1.59 out of 5 star rating from a handful of customer reviews.
While reviews on sites like Trustpilot and BBB often represent extremes of the best and worst of experiences — it’s safe to say that Figure’s reviews are mixed. While some praise the company’s technology for offering speed and ease, others blame the impersonal nature of Figure’s lending processes for problems that aren’t easily remedied by human support.
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Heather Finder
Staff writer
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Jhezelyn Finder
February 25, 2019
Hello Karen,
Thank you for your comment.
Yes, a lien attached to your property puts others on notice that you owe the creditor money. Before you can sell your property and give a clear title to a buyer, you must pay off the lien.
The lien stays on the property unless it’s paid off.
Regards,
Jhezelyn
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Karen
February 24, 2019
Do you attach a lien to my house if I decide to borrow from you?