Home Equity Loan Calculator
What a lump sum against your home costs each month and over its term — and how much of your equity a lender will actually let you take.
The address carries whatever you changed, so anyone opening it sees these numbers. Nothing is saved on our side.
Monthly payment
$788/mo
Fixed, amortizing from the first payment. Over 15 years the interest comes to $61,803.
- $61,803
- $141,803
- $220,000
- $130,000
- At 85% combined LTV
- 63.3%
- $567
- then $788
What is actually borrowable
Equity owned and equity lendable are different numbers. A lender caps what may be owed against the home in total, not what you have built up.
- First mortgage63%$380,000
- Available to borrow22%$130,000
- Equity the lender leaves untouched15%$90,000
- Home value$600,000
How this calculator works
Two separate questions: how much you may borrow, and what borrowing it costs.
available = value × CLTV − mortgage balance
M = L · r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)−n)
The first line is the constraint and the second is the cost. Note that the equity you own does not appear in the first one — what the lender allows is a share of the home’s value, less what is already owed against it.
What is assumed
- A fixed rate, fully amortizing, with no closing costs financed into the balance.
- The home value you enter is what an appraiser would agree to. Lenders lend against their valuation, not yours.
- No tax treatment of the interest.
Questions people ask
Not all of it. Lenders cap what may be owed against the home in total — the combined loan-to-value — commonly at 80–90%. On a $600,000 home with $380,000 owed you have $220,000 of equity, but at 85% CLTV only $130,000 of it is lendable. The rest is a cushion the lender keeps between your debt and the market.
A home equity loan is a lump sum at a fixed rate, amortizing from the first payment — you know exactly what it costs. A HELOC is a credit line, usually variable, usually interest-only during a draw period, with a payment that rises sharply when that period ends. Take the loan if you know the amount and want certainty; take the line if you need to draw over time and can absorb the later payment.
Yes, in everything but name. It is secured on the same property and sits behind the first mortgage in priority, which is why the rate is higher than a first mortgage and lower than unsecured borrowing. It also means the house is collateral: this is not a personal loan with a better rate, it is a loan you can lose your home over.
Because in a forced sale the first mortgage is repaid before anything reaches the second. That subordinate position is real risk to the lender and it is priced in. It is still well below unsecured rates, because a claim on a house beats no claim at all.
Appraisal, title search, recording and sometimes an origination fee, though many lenders waive them on smaller amounts. Some carry an early-closure fee if you repay within the first few years. Ask for the total cost to close before comparing rates between lenders.
Related calculators
An estimate for planning. It is not a loan offer. Combined loan-to-value limits, rates and closing costs vary by lender and by your circumstances.