Unison Review 2026: Who Qualifies and What It Really Costs

What Unison actually is

Unison pays you cash now. In return it shares in how your home’s value changes later. That is the whole idea behind the Unison Equity Sharing Agreement, and it means no monthly payments for up to 30 years and no interest. Settlement happens once, when you sell the home, buy Unison out or reach the end of the term.

Real Estate Equity Exchange, Inc. does business as Unison, with offices in San Francisco and Omaha, and the company dates to 2006. Its separate operating subsidiaries are Unison Agreement Corporation and Unison Investment Management, LLC. More than 17,000 people have used the product. The money comes mainly from institutional investors such as pension funds and university endowments, and a lien on your property, in second position if you have a mortgage, secures the agreement.

You may see this called a home equity agreement or home equity investment. The home equity guides here cover other routes to the equity in your home.

Where Unison operates

Unison operates in 22 states and Washington, D.C.:

The other 28 states aren’t eligible. Six states have no home equity agreement company at all among the six compared here (Alaska, Maine, Massachusetts, North Dakota, South Dakota and West Virginia), and Texas has only Nada. In all seven, the practical route is usually a HELOC or home equity loan.

The process in plain terms

Begin with the free estimate. It takes minutes and leaves your credit alone. Applying comes next, online or through one of Unison’s home equity specialists. Then an independent appraisal is arranged through an appraisal management company, and Unison reviews your credit report with a soft pull.

Here is the part that costs you. Unison does not start from the full appraisal. It subtracts a 5% Risk Adjustment to reach what it calls the Original Agreed Value, so a home appraised at $500,000 is measured from $475,000, and every later gain or loss is measured from there.

You stay in the home for the whole term and keep paying the mortgage, taxes, insurance and upkeep. The total debt secured by the home is capped by a Maximum Authorized Debt Limit that Unison sets. Sort out any refinance before you sign, because some lenders won’t lend behind an agreement that shares in appreciation and refinancing could be harder afterward.

What Unison will ask for

Here’s what Unison looks at: your credit, your income and your property. Treat these as starting points, because meeting them doesn’t mean you’ll be approved.

More: Home equity options at each credit score

What it costs up front

Unison has one fee of its own, and everything else is a third-party cost passed through to you. Decide against going ahead and you owe nothing, and Unison covers the credit report.

In dollars: on a $50,000 payment the 3.9% transaction fee comes to $1,950. Third-party costs at the low and high ends of Unison’s ranges add $1,800 to $4,050, so getting in costs roughly $3,750 to $6,000.

What you owe when it ends

Settlement is a simple formula. Unison takes the Ending Agreed Value, typically the sale price, and compares it with the Original Agreed Value. You return the Initial Payment plus or minus the Investor Percentage of that difference. The Investor Percentage is typically four times the percentage Unison invested, so a 10% investment in your home’s current value means a 40% share of the change.

Worked example: $50,000 on a $500,000 home

The example uses round numbers and is not a quote. Take a $500,000 appraisal, which becomes an Original Agreed Value of $475,000 after the 5% Risk Adjustment. Next, Unison pays $50,000, equal to 10% of the appraised value, at an Investor Percentage of exactly 40%. The sale comes after the first five years, with no remodeling or maintenance adjustments.

Two readings of the table. Sell at the appraised price and you still return $10,000 more than you received, because the change is measured from the risk-adjusted $475,000. Sell at $700,000 and the $50,000 you received becomes $140,000 owed, nearly three times as much.

The restriction period, explained

The restriction period is the first five years by one description and typically three to five by another. Sell inside it and there is no loss sharing, so you owe at least the amount you received plus Unison’s share of the Risk Adjustment. That is why this is long-term funding and why you should plan to stay at least five years. An Equity Appreciation Limit caps Unison’s return in that period, but the rate isn’t published.

Buying Unison out instead of selling carries the same rule at any point in the term: an independent appraisal sets the value, and Unison does not share in any decrease. Using the example above, a buyout costs at least $60,000 even if the home lost value.

Keep records of improvements

Document any remodeling done with licensed contractors and a Remodeling Adjustment keeps the value you added out of Unison’s share, except when you end the agreement in the first three years. Neglected upkeep works against you: a Deferred Maintenance Adjustment assigns that lost value to you.

Pros and cons at a glance

Unison next to Hometap and Unlock

Unison asks for the highest credit score of the six companies compared here and doesn’t generally take rentals. Next to it are two with lower minimums.

Unison alone offers a 30-year term and alone shares in the change in value. Hometap and Unlock use 10-year terms and each earn a share of the home’s whole value at settlement.

A score under 620 changes the shortlist. Hometap publishes a minimum FICO score of 575 and Unlock a minimum credit score of 500, and Unlock also invests in second homes and rental properties. The Hometap review and Unlock review cover each in full. For Unison set against Hometap in dollars, read Hometap vs Unison.

More: Top home equity agreement companies, compared

Is Unison a legitimate company?

Start with the basics: Unison isn’t a scam. It has operated since 2006, has held Better Business Bureau accreditation since August 2013 with an A+ grade, and reports more than 17,000 customers. That tells you the company is real, not that the product suits you.

There’s no license list or NMLS ID on Unison’s site, and no license record has been checked here.

What customers report

The two sources point in different directions. Trustpilot customers praise the staff and how responsive they were during the application. The Better Business Bureau tells a different story: 11 complaints in the last three years, two closed in the last 12 months, and a May 2026 customer review about a dispute over a payoff amount. That sample is small, and reviews written at funding say little about what settling is like years later.

How to apply

If Unison says no

Declines usually come down to a published requirement: the state, the credit score, how much is already owed on the home, or how the home is used. Find which one and the next move follows.

Credit score the problem? Unlock publishes a minimum credit score of 500 and Hometap a minimum FICO score of 575.

A rental or second home points to Unlock, which invests in both. Owing too much is fixable: paying down the mortgage or letting the home appreciate could change the answer, and a home equity calculator shows your position today.

When the state is the obstacle, remember that each company covers different states. Where none does, a HELOC or home equity loan is usually the practical route.

More: HEI vs HELOC, compared: costs, requirements and how to choose

Who should take it and who should skip it

Unison’s appeal is simple: up to 30 years with no payments, and a cost that follows your home’s value. Small gains make it cheap. Strong gains make it expensive, since a 40% share on a 10% payment grows fast, and the 5% Risk Adjustment puts you slightly behind from day one.

The price of entry is higher than at most companies in this market: generally a mid-FICO score of at least 620, a home you live in and a plan to hold for five years or longer. Get a second offer before you sign. I’d skip this if a move is likely in the next few years or your credit sits below the bar.

Common questions about Unison

The Unison scorecard

The stars at the top of this page show Unison’s customer rating on Trustpilot, not a score of ours. In their place, here’s what Unison offers and what to check.