Rocket Mortgage Home Equity Loan (HEL) Review: Fast Process, Limited Flexibility

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Our take: We like Rocket’s easy application process and fast funding, but apart from that, the lender doesn’t stand out much. Before you proceed, we recommend comparing Rocket Mortgage to the best home equity loans.

Home Equity Loans

• Apply in as little as 10 minutes
• Get funds within 20 days

• No response from the company to our inquiries about the product
• Must borrow at least $45,000
• Minimum credit score requirement of 680
• Only available terms are 10-year or 20-year

Rates (APR)	Not disclosed
Loan amounts	$45,000 – $500,000
Repayment terms	10 or 20 years
Min. credit score	680

Home equity can be a powerful financial resource. As you make mortgage payments and your home’s value grows, you may be able to borrow against that equity when you need funds. Lenders such as Rocket Mortgage offer home equity loans (HELs) that let you turn some of your equity into cash, often through a straightforward application process.

With Rocket Mortgage, you can choose a 10-year or 20-year term. The lender’s quick turnaround may appeal to some borrowers, but I found it less transparent than many competitors. I contacted the company for more information about its rates, fees, appraisal process, and more. I waited more than a week for a response and didn’t get one.

We think it’s worth considering other options to find a home equity loan lender that fits your needs.

Table of Contents

1. About Rocket Mortgage HEL
2. How it works
   1. Eligibility
   2. Rates
   3. Loan amounts
   4. Fees and costs
   5. Appraisal process
   6. Funding time
   7. Repayment
3. Customer experience
4. Customer service
5. Pros and cons
6. Alternatives
   1. vs. Figure
   2. vs. LendingTree
   3. vs. Spring EQ

About Rocket Mortgage home equity loans

Rocket Mortgage has offered home loans and other financial products since its founding in 1985. The company was originally called Rock Financial, but that name didn’t last long. In 1999, started operating under the more recognizable Quicken Loans moniker. The final name change took place in 2021, and it’s now known as Rocket Mortgage.

The lender offers mortgages, home equity loans, refinancing, bridge loans, and jumbo loans. It does not offer home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) or construction loans.

Dan Gilbert founded the company in 1985, and it’s now headed by CEO Varun Krishna. Rocket Mortgage has been a publicly traded corporation since 2020.

How it works

You can get a 10-year or 20-year term with Rocket Mortgage. You’ll need to answer some quick questions before Rocket Mortgage advises how much equity you can borrow.

You might qualify for a home equity loan with Rocket Mortgage even if you have a mortgage with a different lender. The company has educational resources and a useful calculator that lets you see how much equity you currently have in your home. The entire application process takes about 10 minutes.

Eligibility

Rocket Mortgages uses the loan-to-value ratio (LTV) to gauge how much you can borrow. It combines your current mortgage with the requested home equity loan amount. A lower LTV is better. You can use the maximum LTV as a guide, not something to aspire toward.

The maximum LTV depends on your credit score. A higher credit score can give you more flexibility:

• Applicants with 680 FICO scores cannot exceed an 80% LTV.
• A 700 credit score gets you a maximum 85% LTV.
• A 740 FICO score might allow you to borrow up to a 90% LTV.

Rocket Mortgage requires a debt-to-income ratio (DTI) of less than 50% and a 680 credit score. A higher credit score increases the likelihood of receiving a more competitive interest rate, but lenders will also consider your LTV and DTI.

Rates

Rocket Mortgage doesn’t share much information about its interest rates for home equity loans. It might offer a lower interest rate if you have a high FICO score, but that’s a standard practice across the industry. We emailed Rocket Mortgage but received no specifics about its home equity loan rates.

A 680 credit score is the ground floor, and anything higher than that can help you secure a more competitive rate. Notably, Rocket Mortgage publishes its rates for mortgages and refinances, but not for home equity loans.

Loan amounts

Homeowners may be eligible to tap into at least $45,000 of their home equity. The maximum loan amount is $500,000. However, Rocket Mortgage will consider other factors, such as your LTV and DTI, before deciding how much equity you can access.

Fees and costs

The fees and costs Rocket assesses are typical for a home equity loan. Closing costs will vary, and you can buy points to reduce your interest rate. We contacted Rocket Mortgage to request more details about its fees and costs but did not receive a response.

Appraisal process

The appraisal process is standard. An appraiser will visit your home and review its general condition. Then, they will let you and Rocket Mortgage know about your property’s appraised value. As with our other inquiries, Rocket Mortgage didn’t respond when we requested a breakdown of how it conducts appraisals.

Funding time

You can receive funding in as little as two weeks, but the entire process can take up to two months. It depends on how soon you provide the necessary documents and respond to any questions.

Repayment

You’ll make monthly payments over a 10-year or a 20-year term. If you want to get out of debt faster, the 10-year term might be right for you. However, you could benefit more from a 20-year term if you want to free up more space in your monthly budget.

Customer experience

Many of the positive reviews mentioned the company’s professional staff. Rocket Mortgage’s quick and easy application process also came up often.

Negative reviews came from people who had difficulty with customer support. Some reviewers mentioned that the underwriters did not approve the rates and terms that Rocket Mortgage had previously promised.

As for my own experience, I didn’t get a response from customer service to reflect on.

	Customer rating	Number of reviews
Better Business Bureau	1.36/5	629
Trustpilot	4.70/5	37,290
Google	4.80/5	27,970

Customer service

Rocket Mortgage offers email, live chat, and phone support. The company has more flexible phone support hours for customers who are applying for new loans than for current members.

Existing clients can get phone support on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern.

New loan clients get weekday phone support from 7 a.m. to midnight Eastern. Phone support is also available on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern and on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern.

Current clients can call 1-800-603-1955, while new loan customers can call 1-888-452-8179.

Pros and cons

Pros

• High loan amounts

  You might be eligible to borrow up to $500,000

• Quick application process

  Apply for a home equity loan in as little as 10 minutes.

• Access funds early

  You could get funds within 20 days of starting the process, a shorter time than many lenders.

Cons

• High loan minimums

  You must borrow at least $45,000 against your home equity to use Rocket Mortgage.

• No company response to my outreach

  I waited more than a week but never heard back.

• High FICO score requirement

  Rocket’s 680 credit score requirement is higher than that of other mortgage lenders.

• No 30-year term

  Rocket Mortgage only lets you choose a 10-year or 20-year term.

Alternatives

Rocket Mortgage isn’t the only option for homeowners who want to tap into their home equity. Here’s how Rocket Mortgage compares to three of the highest-rated home equity loan lenders.

Rocket Mortgage vs. Figure

Figure offers a HELOC, but with a twist. Its HELOCs have fixed interest rates and require you to draw the full loan amount at closing. Because of this structure, they function more like a home equity loan, delivering one lump sum upfront while still allowing you to redraw from the line as you repay. Figure also offers crypto-backed loans that let you use bitcoin and ethereum as collateral instead of selling your digital assets.

Figure’s funding timeline is faster than Rocket Mortgage’s, with some borrowers receiving funds in as little as five days after application. Its HELOC amounts also range more widely, from $15,000 to $750,000, compared to Rocket Mortgage’s $45,000 to $500,000 range. Both lenders have competitive fixed rates, but Figure doesn’t charge prepayment penalties, adding flexibility for those who may want to pay off their balance early.

Rocket Mortgage vs. LendingTree

LendingTree is an online lending marketplace that makes it easier to find and compare rates from multiple lenders, while Rocket Mortgage is a single lender.

You might qualify for a LendingTree home equity loan with a FICO score as low as 640, but Rocket Mortgage will not make exceptions if your credit score is below 680.

Rocket Mortgage vs. Spring EQ

Spring EQ lets you borrow up to 90% of your home’s equity, with a maximum loan amount of $500,000. The company offers multiple products: a fixed-rate HELOC, a variable-rate HELOC, and a fixed-rate home equity loan. With the fixed-rate HELOC and home equity loan, your monthly payments stay the same for the life of the term, while the variable-rate HELOC offers more flexibility in interest rate changes.

Spring EQ’s product range allows you to choose a lump-sum loan or a line of credit you can draw from over time. This flexibility, combined with higher maximum LTVs, means Spring EQ may be a better fit for borrowers seeking larger amounts or more choice in repayment structure, provided you meet its qualification requirements.