Your home equity holds the keys to debt freedom

Not at all. We use what's known as a "soft" credit pull to access your credit report and it does not affect your credit score. If you don't end up qualifying for an equity sharing agreement, you will receive an “adverse action” letter from us explaining that decision. That letter may reference information found in your credit report, but this never means we used a “hard” credit pull and your credit score won't be affected.

If you do qualify and accept an investment from Unison, we will periodically use additional soft credit pulls to ensure that you are continuing to meet the terms of our agreement. Again, none of these soft credit checks will affect your score.

Our goal is to give you as much flexibility as possible. If you chose to end the agreement without selling your home, we’ll use an independent third-party appraisal to determine the market value of your property at that time. You’ll then pay us the same amount you would have paid if you had simply sold your home for that appraised value.

The biggest difference is that Unison will not share in any loss in your home's value if you choose to buy us out. At a minimum, you'll owe the Initial Payment (plus our share of the 5% Risk Adjustment) even if your home appraises for less than it was worth at the start of the agreement.

Equity sharing agreements that originated after February 13, 2023 are eligible to Special Terminate at any time, but those that originated prior to this date must adhere to the Special Termination restriction period outlined in their individual agreements. If you are a current Unison homeowner with questions about your specific Special Termination guidelines, please reach out to our Home Partnership Team by calling 800-330-5800.

Yes. Unison is not a loan; we are invested in your home alongside you, so we win and lose together. Though such cases are not common, with significant decline in your home’s value–something neither of us are looking for!–it is possible that the value of the agreement, and your ending amount due to Unison, would be $0. It’s this feature along with the absence of any monthly payments that distinguishes an equity sharing agreement from a loan.

The home equity built with every monthly mortgage payment belongs entirely to you. Unison only shares in the future change of your home’s market value.

For example, if the Original Agreed Value of your home is $500,000 and you sell it ten years later for $600,000, we'll only share in a percentage of that $100,000 growth in value. All the additional equity you've earned by paying down your mortgage debt is 100% yours to keep.

The honest answer: If your home gains a lot of value during the agreement, Unison's share of that growth can exceed the total interest you might have paid on a loan. That's the trade-off. Cash now with zero payments for up to 30 years in exchange for a slice of the unknown future growth in your home's value. If your home doesn’t appreciate that much, or even loses value, equity sharing can be a significantly more affordable way to access the wealth in your home.