Money Home Equity
Article updated on Jun 28, 2024
If you have excellent credit, this HELOC lender offers low interest rates and flexible loan terms.
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Written by Emma Woodward Emma Woodward is a personal finance writer with a passion for simplifying tricky financial concepts. She has covered loans, budgeting and credit cards for Bankrate, The Financial Diet, Finch, Gusto and Human Interest. When she's not helping you balance your budget, you can find her writing about real estate, food and restaurant tech. Katherine Watt Writer Katherine Watt is a CNET Money writer focusing on mortgages, home equity and banking. She previously wrote about personal finance for NextAdvisor. Based in New York, Katherine graduated summa cum laude from Colgate University with a bachelor's degree in English literature.
Edited by Justin Jaffe Managing editor Justin Jaffe is the Managing Editor for CNET Money. He has more than 20 years of experience publishing books, articles and research on finance and technology for Wired, IDC and others. He is the coauthor of Uninvested (Random House, 2015), which reveals how financial services companies take advantage of customers -- and how to protect yourself. He graduated from Skidmore College with a B.A. in English Literature, spent 10 years in San Francisco and now lives in Portland, Maine.
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Reviews ethics statementOur Experts
Written by Emma Woodward Emma Woodward is a personal finance writer with a passion for simplifying tricky financial concepts. She has covered loans, budgeting and credit cards for Bankrate, The Financial Diet, Finch, Gusto and Human Interest. When she's not helping you balance your budget, you can find her writing about real estate, food and restaurant tech. Katherine Watt Writer Katherine Watt is a CNET Money writer focusing on mortgages, home equity and banking. She previously wrote about personal finance for NextAdvisor. Based in New York, Katherine graduated summa cum laude from Colgate University with a bachelor's degree in English literature.
Edited by Justin Jaffe Managing editor Justin Jaffe is the Managing Editor for CNET Money. He has more than 20 years of experience publishing books, articles and research on finance and technology for Wired, IDC and others. He is the coauthor of Uninvested (Random House, 2015), which reveals how financial services companies take advantage of customers -- and how to protect yourself. He graduated from Skidmore College with a B.A. in English Literature, spent 10 years in San Francisco and now lives in Portland, Maine.
CNET staff -- not advertisers, partners or business interests -- determine how we review the products and services we cover. If you buy through our links, we may get paid.
Reviews ethics statementWhy You Can Trust CNET Money
Our mission is to help you make informed financial decisions, and we hold ourselves to strict. This post may contain links to products from our partners, which may earn us a commission. Here’s a more detailed explanation of .
Table of Contents
- Truist: At a glance
- Home equity loan options
- Fees
- How to qualify
- Applying for a HELOC with Truist
- Customer service
Truist
Highlights
- Product offered
- HELOC, fixed-rate HELOC
- APR
- 8.50% to 16% (see website for introductory offers)
- Credit score
- Not disclosed
- Contact information
- 844-4TRUIST (844-487-8478)
Truist offers a broad range of financial services to people along the East Coast and southern US. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, the company provides home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), but not home equity loans in 17 states plus the District of Columbia.
Truist made our list of the best HELOC lenders because of its fast funding, fixed-rate HELOC option and straightforward application process.
Truist: At a glance
| Products offered | HELOC, fixed-rate HELOC |
| APR range | 8.50% to 16% (see website for introductory offers) |
| Loan amounts | $15,000 to $1 million |
| Credit score requirements | Not disclosed |
| Repayment terms | HELOC: 10-year draw period, 20-year repayment periodFixed-rate HELOC: 5-, 10-, 15-, 20- or 30-years |
| Average time to close | 30-35 days |
Truist is best suited to people looking for a straightforward HELOC, who have a good or excellent credit score and live in one of the states that it services. Truist often offers competitive introductory rates, but they’re only available to borrowers with excellent credit scores.
When considering borrowing against your home equity, it’s important to weigh the upsides and downsides of each lender. Here’s an overview of the major pros and cons of Truist.
Pros
Variable and fixed-rate options: The ability to convert some of your variable-rate loan can be useful, especially if rates are increasing.
Low closing costs: Truist will waive most of your closing costs as long as you keep your account open for at least three years.
Easy access: Truist customer service is available in person or by phone Monday through Saturday.
Cons
Less transparency: Detailed information about eligibility and loan terms is hard to find on Truist’s website, so you’ll need to contact customer service or start an application to learn more.
Limited availability: Truist will only service loans for properties located in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia.
Some homes not covered: To qualify for a HELOC, your home must be an owner-occupied, single-family, primary residence, second home or condo. Investment properties, mobile homes and manufactured homes don’t qualify.
Home equity loan options
HELOC: You can borrow anywhere from $15,000 to $1 million with Truist’s HELOC. It has a standard 10-year draw period and 20-year repayment period. Truist has a minimum draw requirement of $5,000.
Fixed-rate HELOC: Truist offers a rate-lock option, where you can convert up to five portions of your HELOC balance into a fixed-rate loan. You’ll need to pay a $15 service fee each time, and each lock will have a separate repayment term between five and 30 years
Fees
Truist provides options for closing costs. Truist will waive them as long as you keep your account open for at least three years. Otherwise, you’re on the hook for the origination fees and closing fees, which vary by state but usually cost between 2% and 5% of your loan amount.
There is also a $50 annual fee in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, New Jersey and Ohio.
You’ll be charged a $15 service fee each time you lock in a fixed rate on a portion of your loan balance.
How to qualify
Qualifying for a Truist HELOC depends on various factors, including your credit score, the amount of your home equity, your debt-to-income ratio, and your assets, debts and collateral. No single factor will determine eligibility, but having a good credit score will often translate to a lower interest rate.
Truist doesn’t provide details for specific credit scores needed to qualify for products on its website. You can call or visit your local branch to find out the specific requirements for that area. If you have questions when a branch isn’t open, you can contact customer service by phone.
Applying for a HELOC with Truist
Applying for a HELOC or loan with Truist is fairly simple and can be done online or in person. If you’re not a US citizen or you’re under 18 years old, you must visit a branch in person.
Applying on the company’s website should take about 20 minutes. You’ll need to provide some personal information including:
- Social security number
- Phone number
- Address and employment history for the last two years
- Financial history including income and debts
- List of collateral property
Once you are approved, it typically takes between 30 and 35 days to close.
Customer service
You cancontact Truistby visiting a branch (call for local hours) or calling 844-4TRUIST Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. Automated assistance is available 24 hours a day. If you’re looking for general info, you may be able to find answers on the company’sHelp Center.
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Written by
Emma Woodward
Read more from Emma
Emma Woodward is a personal finance writer with a passion for simplifying tricky financial concepts. She has covered loans, budgeting and credit cards for Bankrate, The Financial Diet, Finch, Gusto and Human Interest. When she's not helping you balance your budget, you can find her writing about real estate, food and restaurant tech.
Written by
Katherine Watt
Writer
Read more from Katherine
Katherine Watt is a CNET Money writer focusing on mortgages, home equity and banking. She previously wrote about personal finance for NextAdvisor. Based in New York, Katherine graduated summa cum laude from Colgate University with a bachelor's degree in English literature.
