Best-Of Awards 2026 Methodologies

Best Mortgage Lender for Home Equity Loans

Methodology:

All reviewed mortgage lenders are evaluated against the criteria below. The lender with the highest raw score is our Best Mortgage Lender for Home Equity Loans.

1. Home equity loan APR spread.
2. Home equity loan market share.
3. Home equity loan product accessibility.
4. Loan terms.
5. Maximum combined loan-to-value (CLTV).
6. Time to close.
7. Closing costs.
8. Portion of lender’s overall mortgage business devoted to home equity loans.
9. Appraisal requirement.
10. Availability for second homes.
11. Rate transparency for consumers.
12. Home equity loan customer experience.

Tiebreaker:

1. Transparency for consumers on key factors, which may include home equity loan rates, fees, terms, and minimum or maximum loan amounts.

How we picked the companies to evaluate:

NerdWallet reviewed more than 40 mortgage lenders, including the majority of the largest U.S. mortgage lenders by annual loan volume (measured among lenders with at least a 1% market share), lenders with significant online search volume and those that specialize in serving various audiences across the country. We rated them on criteria including rates and fees, product accessibility, customer experience and more.

Some of the providers are NerdWallet partners, but this did not influence our selection of the winner.

How we chose the winner:

The winner is the mortgage lender that had the highest raw score when evaluated against NerdWallet's home equity loan star-rating rubric: home equity loan APR spread (20%), home equity loan market share (10%), home equity loan product accessibility (10%), home equity loan terms (10%), maximum CLTV (10%), time to close (10%), closing costs (5%), portion of business devoted to home equity loans (5%), appraisal requirement (5%), availability for second homes (5%), rate transparency for consumers (5%), and home equity loan customer experience (5%). When available, NerdWallet network performance is included as a factor in a lender’s customer experience score. If NerdWallet does not have network performance data for a lender, the customer experience score is calculated using the remaining factors, with weights redistributed proportionally so lenders without this data are not penalized. Points may be deducted for any recent regulatory action pertaining to the company’s mortgage lending business. In the event of a tie, the winner must demonstrate superior transparency to consumers on key loan factors, such as rates, fees, terms and loan amounts.

How we verified our data:

NerdWallet solicits information from reviewed lenders on a recurring basis throughout the year. Lender-provided information is verified through lender websites and interviews. Market share analysis is based on data from National Mortgage News and Inside Mortgage Finance. We analyzed 2025 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data for APR spread, market share, product distribution, and loan type information, and we referenced internal performance data when available.


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