Splitero vs Hometap: Your Credit Score and Term Decide It

Splitero vs Hometap mostly comes down to your credit score and how much time you need. Splitero accepts scores from 500 and a term that can run up to 30 years, while Hometap asks for a 575 FICO score, runs 10 years and serves more states.

What both companies do

Both offer a home equity investment. You get a lump sum now, you make no monthly payments, and when you settle the company earns an agreed percentage of your home’s value at that time.

Both record a lien on the home, both let you settle early with no penalty, and both let you use the money however you want. Neither asks about your income.

So the differences are in the details. And the details are where your cost is decided.

Splitero vs Hometap, side by side

Where each one is available

This might settle it before anything else does. Hometap serves 26 states. Splitero serves 17, and only in specific areas of those.

They overlap in 15 states: Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia.

Live somewhere neither serves? Our roundup of home equity investment companies shows who else might.

Which one costs less?

It depends on the percentage in your offer, and you won’t know that until you apply. But both companies publish an example, and lining them up is telling.

Hometap says a homeowner who receives 10% of the home’s value gets a Hometap Percentage of 16.5% in years 0 to 5 and 18% in years 6 to 10. Splitero’s pricing page shows a $100,000 investment on a $1,000,000 home, also 10%, with a 20% Split Percentage.

Here’s what that means on the same house. Say the home is worth $1,200,000 when you settle at year 5, which is Splitero’s own example.

On these published numbers, Hometap’s percentage is the lower one. That gap is $42,000 at year 5 on a $1,200,000 home.

Does that make Hometap the cheaper pick every time? No. Splitero prices each deal on your equity, your liens and your credit report, so your offer could look nothing like its example. The only way to know is to get both quotes and compare them at the year you expect to settle.

Real offers do swing. One homeowner on Reddit (u/Busy_Cranberry_2438) said that for the full amount they qualified for, Point wanted 74.4% of their future equity plus the original amount. They walked and went with Splitero for the same amount at 40.2% of the home’s future appreciation.

Another (u/Bulky_Loquat_1397) said Hometap’s appraisal came in $175,000 lower than the one they got through Point, which shrank what Hometap would offer. So compare the appraised value on each offer, not just the percentage.

The caps are close. Splitero’s is a touch lower at 17.99% a year against Hometap’s 18.5%, both compounded monthly. The cap mostly matters if you settle in the first few years or your home’s value takes off.

Fees at closing

Both take their fee out of your proceeds, so nothing comes out of your pocket at closing.

Hometap charges 4.5% of the investment, capped at $20,000. Third-party costs it lists include an appraisal ($60 to $299 virtual or $500 to $1,000 in person), a $650 closing fee that isn’t charged in Pennsylvania, title insurance of $30 to $3,075 and recording charges of $370 to $1,000.

Splitero charges 4.99%, with a $1,500 minimum. It puts other closing costs at about $1,000, including an appraisal of $200 to $700, title of $200 to $900 and escrow of $250 to $550.

On $100,000, that’s $4,500 at Hometap and $4,990 at Splitero before third-party costs. Not a huge gap, but on a big investment Hometap’s $20,000 cap starts to help.

The term: 10 years or up to 30

This is Splitero’s biggest edge.

Hometap gives you 10 years to settle. Splitero’s term matches the maturity of your first traditional mortgage or 10 years from origination, whichever is later, with a maximum of 30 years. So if you’ve got 25 years left on your traditional mortgage, you’d have 25 years with Splitero.

Why does that matter? A 10-year deadline is the part that worries people most, since you need to sell, refinance or come up with the cash by then. A longer term takes that pressure off. Just remember the home keeps growing the whole time, so a longer hold usually means a bigger settlement.

One catch on Splitero’s side: if your senior traditional mortgage runs longer than 30 years, you’re not eligible right now.

Who qualifies for each

Credit is the clearest split. Splitero’s minimum is 500, while Hometap requires a FICO score of 575. If you’re anywhere between those two, Splitero is the one to try.

Both need real equity and a home located in an eligible state, among other qualifying criteria. Hometap looks for at least 25% equity. Splitero wants more than 25%, and your investment plus your traditional mortgage balance can’t top 75% of the home’s value.

Splitero also has rules on recent trouble. It wants at least 4 years since a bankruptcy dismissal and 7 years since a completed foreclosure. And it pulls credit: soft and hard pulls are possible, with the hard inquiry coming during application review. Hometap’s estimate, on the other hand, has no credit impact.

Want more options at a low score? See what you can get at each credit score.

Living with the agreement

Planning to refinance down the road? Splitero may subordinate its lien in some cases, like a rate and term refinance with no cash out. With Hometap, your lender will probably ask it to sign a Subordination Agreement, and it won’t go below 3rd lien position. Some lenders still won’t refinance with either one in place. We cover the details in refinancing with an HEI.

What happens if you die during the term? With Hometap, if you’re the sole homeowner, the obligation to settle passes to your estate and the lien stays on the home. Splitero’s agreement runs with the land, so the terms stay in place for your heirs until it’s settled. More in what happens to an HEI if you die.

Going through a divorce? Splitero lists buying out a spouse’s share as one use of its HEI, in certain scenarios. See using an HEI for a divorce buyout.

Which one to pick

If both cover you, here’s the move:

Bottom line

Splitero is the easier one to qualify for, and its longer term is a real advantage if 10 years feels tight. Hometap reaches more states, starts at $15,000 and, on published examples, carried a lower percentage for the same investment.

Bottom line: let your state and your score narrow it down, then let two real offers decide.

Splitero vs Hometap questions, answered

How we put this together

This comparison is Banks Done Right’s editorial view. Splitero’s figures come from its How It Works, Pricing and FAQ pages. Hometap’s come from its FAQs, pricing guide and blog posts on refinancing and life events.

The year 5 table uses each company’s own published example percentage for a 10% investment. We did the math, and we worked out each cap from its published rate. We didn’t give either company a star score.

Sources