USAA Home Equity Loan and HELOC Alternatives
USAA no longer offers home loans or lines of credit. However, other lenders can provide a number of good alternatives for military members and their families.
Many or all of the companies featured provide compensation to LendEDU. These commissions are how we maintain our free service for consumers. Compensation, along with hours of in-depth editorial research, determines where & how companies appear on our site.
The United Services Automobile Association, commonly known as USAA, has been providing low-cost loans, insurance products, and other banking services to members of the United States military, veterans, and their family members since 1922.
The company used to offer a full line of home equity products, including HELOCs and home equity loans, but those products have been discontinued.
Fortunately, other financial services companies and online lenders offer competitive rates. If you’re a USAA member and need to access the equity in your home now, consider one of the alternatives below.
On this page:
USAA Home Equity Loan and Line of Credit Alternatives
A home equity loan or line of credit uses the equity you’ve built in your home as collateral. This oftentimes leads borrowers to receive a lower rate with one of these products than what may be offered by a personal loan lender, as personal loans are often unsecured forms of debt.
The funds received from these products can be used for everything from home improvement projects to vacations, debt consolidation, and much more.
Our team has reviewed several home equity lenders to determine which are the best in the industry. To compare these options, check out our guides on the best home equity loans or best home equity lines of credit.
One standout from our review was Figure, which offers a home equity line of credit that can be applied for online with a soft credit check to see if you prequalify.
Figure
Rates (APR)
4.99% – 13.25%
Loan Amounts
$15,000 – $150,000
Minimum Credit Score
640
Figure is an online lender offering home equity lines of credit to borrowers in need of financing. You can pre-qualify without any effect on your credit score. The online application can be completed within minutes and funds can be received in 5 days.
- Rate reduction: 0.75% automatic payment discount
- Maximum loan-to-value: 80%
- Draw term length: 5 years
- Origination fee: Can go 0% – 4.99%
- Repayment terms: 5, 10, 15, or 30 years
HELOCs vs. Home Equity Loans: How Do I Decide?
Home equity products each come with their own pros and cons.
A HELOC may be more advantageous if you’re doing an ongoing home improvement project and want to ensure that you have funds available for extras that pop up during the project. This way, you won’t have to withdraw funds until you actually need them. It also allows you to make a smaller monthly payment during the draw period, which can help you save money upfront while postponing the major payments until later.
“We have used multiple HELOCs on our rental real estate properties and have been very happy with their ease of use and relatively low rates and fees compared to having to do a cash-out refi every time we needed to tap money from our real estate,” said Scott, a long-time real estate investor and the blogger behind the popular blog Costa Rica Fire. “We picked a HELOC over a home equity loan because we wanted the flexibility to borrow as much or as little as we needed at various times, as opposed to needing a specific amount of money at any one time.”
Scott from Costa Rica Fire
With a home equity loan, you’ll have a fixed, predictable payment that you can budget for while getting one lump sum of funds for your needs right away. This is advantageous if you’re using the funds for a one-time expense.
Bottom Line: Find the USAA Home Equity Alternative That Works for You
Choosing a home equity product is a big decision; after all, you’re putting your home up as collateral. Before making any financial decisions, make sure to look at several different lenders, compare rates and terms, and understand how the payments will fit into your current financial situation.