U.S. Bank Home Equity Review

LendEDU rating: 3.6/5

Home equity loans and HELOCs
Rate discounts for checking account customers
Borrow up to $1 million
No closing costs

Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank is a trusted financial institution that dates back to 1863. It provides home equity loans and HELOCs to qualified homeowners in select states, with home equity limits as high as $1 million in certain areas.

If you have a U.S. Bank checking account, you could get rate discounts on its home equity products. Here’s a closer look at what these products offer borrowers.

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U.S.Bank home equity loans
U.S. Bank HELOCs
More about U.S. Bank

How does U.S. Bank help me access my home equity?

Two primary products allow homeowners to withdraw a portion of the equity in their home: a HELOC and a home equity loan.

The most important differences between the two are as follows:

How the money is borrowed
Repayment options

U.S. Bank offers both a home equity loan and a HELOC to eligible homeowners, so you can choose the one that best fits your needs. (Read our full breakdown of the similarities and differences between a HELOC and a home equity loan.)

U.S. Bank home equity loans

Term	Detail
Rates (APR)	Starting at 7.95%
Rate discounts	0.50% for autopay; 0.50% for checking account customers
Loan amounts	$15,000 – $750,000 (up to $1 million in California)
Repayment period	5, 10, 15, 20, or 30 years
Maximum LTV	80%
Minimum credit score	Not disclosed
Minimum income	Not disclosed
Fees	No closing costs; funding fee may apply

If you’re looking for a lump-sum installment loan against the equity in your home, a home equity loan from U.S. Bank might be the answer. Available for up to 80% of your home’s total equity, these loans can give you access to between $15,000 and $1 million (depending on location) for any purpose.

With a U.S. Bank home equity loan, you’ll have between five and 30 years to repay the debt with a set monthly payment. You won’t pay closing costs or annual fees, and discounts are available to autopay and checking account customers.

Interest rates are fixed on most home equity loans. This interest may even be tax-deductible depending on the details of your property and how you spend the money.

U.S. Bank HELOCs

Term	Detail
Rates (APR)	3.90% to 8.20%
Rate discounts	0.50% for autopay; 0.50% for checking account customers
Loan amounts	$15,000 to $750,000 (up to $1 million in California)
Draw period	10 years
Repayment period	10, 15, or 20 years
Maximum LTV	80%
Minimum credit score	Not disclosed
Minimum income	Not disclosed
Fees	$90 annual fee after the first year (can be waived); no closing costs; funding fees may apply; early closure fee of 1% (up to $500) if you pay off and close the line of credit within the first 30 months

With the help of a U.S. Bank HELOC, homeowners can take out a line of credit for up to $750,000 ($1 million in California), with a maximum LTV of 80%. This line of credit offers a draw period of 10 years, during which you can withdraw cash as needed.

During the draw period, you can choose between interest-only payments and a monthly payment equal to 1% or 2% of the total borrowed amount. Once the draw period ends, the repayment period of 10, 15, or 20 years begins, and you’ll start paying the principal balance.

Many HELOCs have variable interest rates, which can change with market conditions. However, you can lock in some or all of your outstanding balance with a fixed interest rate during your draw period. U.S. Bank allows up to three fixed-rate options per HELOC.

An annual fee of $90 may apply to the HELOC beyond the first year, but U.S. Bank waives it for checking account customers. U.S. Bank doesn’t charge for closing costs on a HELOC, but certain funding fees may apply. If you pay off and close your HELOC within the first 30 months of opening the credit line, the bank may charge an early closure penalty fee of 1% (up to a maximum of $500).

Pros and cons of U.S. Bank HELOCs and home equity loans

Pros

Borrow up to $1 million against your home’s equity.
No closing costs on home equity loans or HELOCs.
Rate discounts for checking account customers and autopay.

Cons

Only available in 28 states.

Listed below.
If you want the lowest interest rates, you need to open a U.S. Bank checking account or waive the annual fee on your HELOC.
Depending on your credit score, you may be required to make more than interest-only payments during your draw period.

What do U.S. Bank’s customers say about the company?

Source	Rating	Number of reviews
Better Business Bureau	1.12/5	602
Trustpilot	1.3/5	564

Ratings collected on November 8, 2022.

Before you borrow against your home’s equity, you’ll want a solid idea of the products and services a bank offers and how those can help you reach your financial goals. Next, it’s important to determine whether that bank follows through with customers.

Customer ratings can be valuable in analyzing how a bank treats its customers and whether consumers would borrow from that bank again.

One trusted resource is the Better Business Bureau (BBB). As of November 2022, U.S. Bank is BBB-accredited and has a B+ rating. However, customer reviews on the BBB website are less than flattering, with an average consumer rating of just 1.12 stars out of 5.

Trustpilot is another platform for consumer reviews and ratings. U.S. Bank doesn’t fare much better there, with a rating of 1.3 stars out of 5. Most complaints center around failed customer service experiences, and several reviews mention erroneous fees.

Do I qualify for a HELOC or home equity loan from U.S. Bank?

To borrow against your home, you’ll need to have equity in the property and meet several other requirements.

U.S. Bank doesn’t publish all its borrower eligibility thresholds, such as credit score and income, so you won’t know whether you qualify on those factors until it’s time to apply.

However, U.S. Bank discloses the following requirements:

Only offers home equity loans and HELOCs on primary and secondary homes.
Home must be in one of the 28 states in which U.S. Bank has a branch location. (See below.)
Borrow at least $15,000 against your home’s equity, up to a maximum of $750,000 (or $1 million in California). (Maximum LTV is 80%.)
To qualify for the lowest interest rates, you need a credit score of at least 730.

As of November 2022, U.S. Bank home equity products are available in the following states:

Arkansas
Arizona
California
Colorado
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Mexico
North Dakota
Ohio
Oregon
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Utah
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

How do I apply with U.S. Bank?

You can apply for a home equity loan or HELOC with U.S. Bank online, over the phone, or in person.

To apply online, you’ll need to provide the bank with personal information as well as details about your property and home equity needs:

Enter your personal information, such as your name, date of birth, email address, and phone number.
Provide information about your property, including the physical address, county, estimated value, current mortgage payment, and remaining mortgage balance.
Determine how much you want to borrow against the property. (Remember the maximum LTV U.S. Bank allows is 80%.)
Enter your income and employment information.

Before it approves your application, U.S. Bank will ask you to submit certain documents. Depending on your situation, these could include your most recent pay stubs, tax returns, mortgage statement, and documentation of assets (such as other properties or savings accounts).

How does U.S. Bank determine how much I can borrow?

If you live in one of the states in which U.S. Bank operates, you can borrow between $15,000 and $750,000 against your home’s equity. (Note: If you live in California, your maximum home equity loan or HELOC increases to $1 million.)

This also depends on your home equity. For example, if your home is worth $600,000, and you owe $400,000 to your mortgage lender, you have $200,000 in home equity. Since U.S. Bank allows for a maximum LTV of 80%, you can borrow up to $80,000 in home equity.

Here’s how we got those numbers:

$600,000 home value x 80% maximum combined LTV = $480,000 total liens allowed

$480,000 – $400,000 current mortgage balance = $80,000 in available equity

U.S. Bank does not disclose certain qualifying factors, such as credit score and borrower income. Depending on your score and factors including debt-to-income—how much of your monthly income you spend paying debt—you may be further limited in how much you can borrow.

What does the appraisal process look like?

An appraisal is a report that tells you and the bank how much your property is worth. An independent third party considers factors such as market trends, the details of your property, and comparable homes in your area to complete the appraisal.

Depending on when you purchased your property, how much you want to borrow against the home, and the most recent appraisal date, U.S. Bank might require a new appraisal to complete a home equity loan or line of credit.

If this is the case, U.S. Bank will order one through its trusted network of appraisers. This individual will visit your property to conduct an inspection and value your property. The bank will use this number to determine your home equity and how much money you can borrow.

Does U.S. Bank charge any fees?

U.S. Bank does not charge closing costs for home equity loans or HELOCs, but you may encounter other fees.

Some customers are responsible for escrow-related funding fees, which can vary by location, loan amount, and terms. For HELOCs, a $90 annual fee applies after the first year, but U.S. Bank waives this fee for customers with a Platinum Checking Package.

If you open a HELOC through U.S. Bank, pay off the balance, and close the line of credit within the first 30 months, you may be responsible for an early-closure penalty. This fee is equal to 1% of the original credit line, up to $500.

Fee	Detail
HELOC annual fees	$90 after the first year (can be waived for checking account customers)
Funding fees	May apply on HELOCs and home equity loans
Early-closure fee	If you pay off and close your HELOC within 30 months of opening the account, you may be subject to an early closure fee of 1% of the line total (up to $500).

Does U.S. Bank have a customer service team?

Your options to reach U.S. Bank’s customer service team include the following:

Phone: U.S. Bank representatives are available at 800-642-3547.
Request a call: You can request a phone call from a home equity expert by filling out an online form.
Book an appointment: You can request an appointment with a U.S. Bank representative by filling out a form online. If you live near a U.S. Bank branch, you can schedule an in-person appointment. If you don’t live near a branch or prefer a virtual option, you can make an appointment for a phone call or virtual meeting.

If you’re unsure whether U.S. Bank is the right fit for your home equity needs, check out our list of home equity companies.

How we rated U.S. Bank

We designed LendEDU’s editorial rating system to help readers find companies that offer the best home equity product. Our system awards higher ratings to companies with affordable solutions, positive customer reviews, and online transparency of benefits and terms.

We compared U.S. Bank to several home equity lenders, using hundreds of data points from company websites, public disclosures, customer reviews, and direct communication with company representatives. We weighted, scored, and combined each factor to produce a final editorial rating. This rating is expressed on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest possible score. Our take is represented in our rating and best-for designation, recapped below.

Product	Our rating
U.S. Bank home equity and HELOC	3.6/5