Hometap brings home equity investment product to five more states

Hometap is expanding its home equity investment product (HEI) into five additional states, extending its reach to markets that represent more than half of U.S. homeowners.

The Boston-based financial technology company announced Tuesday that its HEI product is now available in Georgia, Montana, Tennessee, Idaho and Delaware.

CEO Jeffrey Glass told HousingWire that the company chose the states after seeing strong consumer demand there. Nearly 10,000 homeowners in the five states contacted Hometap over the past two years seeking alternatives to traditional home equity financing, he said.

“Homeowners are facing rising insurance premiums, higher property taxes and increasing maintenance costs, and traditional loan options don’t work for many of them,” Glass said. He said the company also weighs regulatory considerations and market size before entering a new state.

The expansion comes as homeowners continue to look for alternatives to home equity loans and cash-out refinancing, particularly in a higher interest rate environment.

Hometap‘s HEI product provides homeowners with cash in exchange for a share of their home’s future value. Unlike traditional home equity loans, the product requires no monthly payments. Homeowners repay the investment when they sell or refinance the home, or at the end of a 10-year term, with no prepayment penalty for settling earlier.

Consumers call for alternatives

“The details differ by state, but the underlying story is the same: home values have climbed significantly, and the costs of staying in those homes have climbed right alongside them, while wages haven’t kept pace,” Glass said, citing recent data from ATTOM and Cotality showing property taxes in Georgia have climbed more than 50% since 2019, while nearly half of homes in Tennessee and more than half of mortgaged homes in Idaho are considered equity-rich.

In Montana, home values have risen substantially faster than wages, while Delaware has one of the nation’s fastest-growing mortgage debt burdens.

“The opportunity we see is giving homeowners a flexible way to access their equity,” Glass said.

The company cited a recent survey showing growing consumer interest in alternatives to conventional borrowing. According to the survey, 75% of homeowners said they want options beyond traditional mortgages and home equity loans, while nearly 80% described the process of accessing home equity as outdated or difficult.

The survey also found that 87% of respondents would prefer to access their home equity without taking on monthly payment obligations.

Hometap also pointed to data from the Urban Institute showing that 35% of mortgage applications seeking to extract home equity were denied in 2024.

Response to regulatory concerns

Home equity investment products have drawn scrutiny from some consumer advocates, who argue homeowners may not fully understand the amount of future home appreciation they are giving up. Glass said Hometap has sought to address these concerns by simplifying its pricing model, providing online calculators, requiring investment managers to explain multiple repayment scenarios and encouraging customers to consult financial advisers before closing.

Homeowners also receive disclosure documents before closing and a three-day rescission period, he said.

“Our commitment doesn’t end at closing: homeowners have ongoing access to their dashboard to monitor their investment status and model settlement scenarios, along with monthly newsletters and quarterly account statements,” Glass added.

Glass said Hometap plans to continue expanding “responsibly” into additional states, with future launches depending on homeowner demand, regulatory conditions and market opportunities.

“We’re continuously evaluating new markets, and the same framework applies: we’re looking at homeowner demand, regulatory alignment, and opportunity scalability. Each state often has its own nuances. Sometimes it’s a regulatory question about how HEIs are treated under existing law; sometimes it’s a matter of working through requirements needed in a new market,” he said. “What I can say is that we’re committed to reaching more homeowners across the U.S. We tripled our state count between 2019 and today, but we’re not done.”

The expansion follows Hometap’s announcement earlier this month of a new pricing structure intended to simplify and broaden access to its home equity investment products.