Achieve Loans: 2024 Home Equity Review

Benefits

• An interesting hybrid of a product: It carries a fixed interest rate like a home equity loan, but lets you borrow money, pay it back, then borrow again like a traditional home equity line of credit.
• You can close and receive funds in as little as 15 days — much faster than the industry average.

Drawbacks

• There’s no low introductory rate. The fixed HELOC APRs range from 10.25 percent to 16.5 percent — much higher than Bankrate’s national averages for both HELOCs and home equity loans.
• The HELOC offers no interest-only payment period; repayments of principal start immediately.
• Achieve is only licensed to lend in 28 states, excluding such populous states as New York, Florida and Massachusetts.

Home equity loan products offered

Achieve Loans offers a fixed-rate home equity line of credit (HELOC) with a 10 or 15-year term. Its main use is to consolidate high-interest debt. Credit limits vary from $15,000 to $150,000. There’s a draw period for the first five years of the loan where you can borrow and pay it back as you need to. You incur interest only on the actual amount you’ve withdrawn (not your entire credit line). After the draw period, you’ll enter a repayment period for the remainder of the HELOC term. 

Achieve doesn’t publish their required debt-to-income (DTI) and loan-to-value (LTV) ratios, but these ratios factor into how large a credit limit you’ll receive. For debt consolidation, you’ll need a minimum credit score of 640. If you want to tap equity for other purposes, you’ll need to have a credit score of 670 or higher. 

Types of fees charged

Achieve’s HELOC closing costs range from $750 to $6,685, depending on how much you’re borrowing and the state in which your home is located. These costs typically include a 2.5 percent origination fee and a $725 underwriting fee.

How to qualify for a HELOC with Achieve Loans

You’ll need a minimum credit score of 640 for debt consolidation and 670 to tap your equity for any other reason. You must occupy the property you’re using as collateral. Your combined loan-to-value ratio, including the HELOC sum you’re applying for and any outstanding mortgage, may not exceed 80 percent.

How to apply with Achieve Loans

You can start the process for an Achieve Loans HELOC through their site or by calling 1-833-418-3231. You can also submit questions by filling out an online form and a representative will contact you. 

How Bankrate scored Achieve Loans

• Methodology

  To determine a home equity lender's Bankrate Score, Bankrate rates lenders on a scale of one (1) to five (5) stars — with five (5) the highest rating — based on a variety of factors relating to the lender's products and services. To assign our ratings, we assessed each mortgage lender across three core areas:

  • Affordability: Annual percentage rate (APR) - 80%; introductory APR - 20%
  • Availability: Licensing - 50%; credit score - 20%; loan minimum - 10%; draw requirement - 10%; loan products - 10% 
  • Borrower experience: Rate transparency - 45%; convenience - 35%; customer service - 10%; fixed-rate options - 10%

  Learn more about our methodology.