Independent tools and straight answers for tapping your home equity.
Run the numbers before you talk to a lender. No urgency, no inflated estimates — just calculators and plain-English guides.
Calculators
Home Equity Calculator
See your total equity and how much you could tap at your target CLTV.
Open calculator →HELOC Payment Calculator
Compare your interest-only draw payment to the repayment-period jump.
Open calculator → Flagship toolHELOC vs Cash-Out Refi
Keep your low first mortgage and add a HELOC, or refinance it all? Find the break-even.
Open calculator →Debt Consolidation Savings
Roll high-rate balances into a HELOC and see the monthly and lifetime difference.
Open calculator →Learn the essentials
HELOC Basics
How home equity lines of credit actually work.
Compare
HELOC vs HELOAN vs cash-out refinance, side by side.
Qualify
Credit, CLTV, and income requirements explained.
Rates
What moves HELOC rates and how to read the market.
Uses
Smart and risky ways homeowners use their equity.
States
State-by-state HELOC rules and lender notes.
Latest articles
New guides are publishing soon. In the meantime, try the calculators above.
HELOC rate alerts
Know when the Fed moves your rate. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Independent by design
HelocPilot is a publisher, not a lender or broker. We don’t originate loans and we don’t dress up affiliate offers as advice. Our tools show the math; you make the call.
Alex Hartman
Lead Editor, Home Equity
Mortgage and home-equity writer focused on helping homeowners compare borrowing options without the sales pitch.
About the editor →