You are sitting on equity and carrying a card balance at a rate that is a multiple of your mortgage rate, and the only fix anyone has offered means giving up the first mortgage rate you have.
What it is, in one paragraph
The EPiQ Advantage Simplified HELOC is a revolving line of credit in second lien position. Your existing first mortgage stays exactly where it is, at the rate you have. The line sits behind it. You draw what you need, you pay interest on what you drew, and you can pay it back down and draw again.
The structure is a three-year draw period with interest-only payments, followed by a seventeen-year repayment period of principal and interest. Twenty years, start to finish.
It is delivered on our lending partner's digital platform. EPiQ Lending originates it. The terms below are the partner's, they are subject to change, and you should confirm them on your own disclosure rather than from this page.
One thing worth knowing before you click: because this is originated through us as a broker, the application portal and your loan documents will carry the name of the technology partner and of the issuing bank alongside ours. That is normal and it is how a broker-originated loan works. Nobody should meet a name for the first time at the closing table, which is why it is on this page instead of in a footnote.
Why it is fast, and what fast actually means
The application takes about a minute. Prequalification runs on a soft credit pull with no impact to your score, needs no documents at that stage, and returns a decision immediately.
After you submit, income verification, property valuation and title review run in parallel rather than one after another. That is the single biggest reason a bank second mortgage takes six weeks and this one does not. The partner reports an average of six days from accepted offer to closing as of 30 April 2026, with many straightforward files closing in as little as a day. Closing documents are system-generated, most states close by remote online notarization, and funding can land on a weekend.
That is a reported average rather than a promise, and it is measured from accepted offer, not from the minute you apply. What stretches it: payoffs that need coordinating with your existing creditors, complicated income, title that needs curative work, a full appraisal (required over $500,000 or when the automated valuation is not confident enough), and how fast you return documents. The last one is the only one you control, and it is usually the one that decides it.
Three things to understand before you apply
There is a mandatory 75% draw at closing. This is the term most people miss and the most important one on this page. You must take at least three quarters of the approved line when the loan closes. This is not a line you open and leave at zero for a rainy day. If standby access to a small amount is what you want, this is the wrong product and we will tell you so on the first call.
The rate is variable, and you should know which half of it moves. It is WSJ Prime plus a margin. The margin is set at origination and never changes for the life of the loan. Prime moves, and your rate moves with it. That is a real risk and it belongs in your decision, not in the small print.
It is not a purchase or refinance tool. You must already own the home and be on title when you apply. It does not close alongside a purchase, it is not a rate-and-term refinance, and there are no discount points or buydowns available to buy the rate down.
What it lends on
Lines run up to $750,000, with combined loan-to-value up to 90%, depending on your credit profile and the property type. Combined loan-to-value measures your first mortgage plus this line against the value of the home, so the equity you can actually reach is a function of what you still owe.
Investment property is eligible, which is unusual and genuinely useful. Investment lines run up to $500,000 with combined loan-to-value to 90% at a 720 or better score. Primary residences and second homes are eligible as well. Manufactured homes and timeshares are not.
There is no prepayment penalty and no early termination fee, so paying it down or paying it off early costs you nothing beyond the interest already accrued.
If your income is not a W-2, verification runs through several paths rather than one. That is why self-employed borrowers clear this product more often than they clear a bank second: when one path cannot verify you, there is another behind it.
Who you actually deal with
A digital process usually means nobody answers the phone. This one is built the other way round, and that is worth knowing before you compare it with a bank second mortgage.
Once your loan is accepted, a dedicated customer experience manager owns the file from that point through funding. Their job is the pace of the loan: moving it every day, surfacing what is needed and chasing whatever stalls. Specialists work behind them on income, title and closing, and you do not have to track any of it.
Communication runs through one conversation thread for the whole loan rather than separate channels. You, I and the partner team are all in it, so nothing is lost in a handoff and you never explain your situation twice. Where automation cannot resolve something, there is a route to a person.
After funding, support continues through an assisted chat for payment and servicing questions, with a path to a human when it is needed. You are not handed to a call center the day the money lands.
And you are not dealing with a platform instead of me. These loans are originated only through a licensed originator. I am on the file and in the thread.
When this beats a cash-out refinance
This is the comparison that decides it, and it is arithmetic rather than opinion.
A cash-out refinance replaces your first mortgage. If the rate on that first mortgage is better than what is available today, refinancing the whole balance to reach equity means repricing debt you are happy with in order to get at debt you are not. On a large first mortgage at a good rate that trade is usually terrible, and people make it anyway because it is the only option they were shown.
A second lien leaves the first mortgage alone. You borrow only what you need, at a higher rate on a much smaller balance. Run the blended rate across both and compare it with the blended rate after a cash-out. Our cash-out refinance calculator does that math, and the refinance page explains how to read the result.
And be straight with yourself about consolidation. Card debt is unsecured. Moving it onto a line secured by your home changes what is at risk if things go wrong. The payment drops, frequently by a lot, and the exposure changes too. Do that on purpose, not by accident.
When something else is the better answer
If you want a line to sit unused as a safety net, the mandatory draw makes this the wrong instrument. Say so early and we will point you elsewhere.
If payment certainty matters more to you than anything, a fixed-rate second or a fixed-rate cash-out refinance may suit you better than a variable line even at a higher starting cost.
If you have strong consistent cash flow moving through a checking account every month, read the All In One Loan page before you decide. It is a first-lien line where your deposits offset the balance every day, and for the right household it does more than a second lien ever could. It is also wrong for a thin cash flow, and that page says so plainly.
And if the money is going into repairs on a house you are buying rather than one you already own, that is an FHA 203(k) conversation instead.
Common questions
How much can I borrow?
Up to $750,000, with combined loan-to-value up to 90% depending on your credit profile and the property type. Investment properties run up to $500,000 with combined loan-to-value to 90% at a 720 or better score.
Do I have to draw the whole line at closing?
You must draw at least 75% of the approved line at closing. That is a mandatory term rather than a preference, and it makes this the wrong product for anyone who wants a line sitting unused.
Is the rate fixed?
No. It is WSJ Prime plus a margin. The margin is fixed at origination and never changes. Prime moves, and your rate moves with it.
How long is the draw period?
Three years of interest-only payments, then seventeen years of principal and interest. Twenty years in total.
Will checking my options hurt my credit?
No. Prequalification uses a soft credit inquiry with no impact to your score, requires no documents, and returns a decision immediately.
How fast does it really fund?
The partner reports an average of six days from accepted offer to closing as of 30 April 2026, and many straightforward files close in about a day. A full appraisal (required over $500,000 or when the automated valuation is not confident enough), creditor payoffs, complex income and title curative work all extend it.
Can I use it to buy a home, or to refinance my first mortgage?
Neither. You must already own the home and be on title when you apply. It does not close alongside a purchase and it is not a rate-and-term refinance.
Is there a prepayment penalty?
No prepayment penalty and no early termination fee.
Can I use it on a rental?
Yes. Investment properties are eligible up to $500,000 with combined loan-to-value to 90% at a 720 or better score. Manufactured homes and timeshares are not eligible.
Why bring this file to us
- Broker model. Multiple investors rather than one bank's shelf, which is what a file needs when the first answer is no.
- You talk to the principal. Ricky Khamis is President of EPiQ Lending and a Certified Mortgage Planner, NMLS #173141, originating mortgages since 1999. Direct line: (480) 999-9842.
- We price the alternatives against each other. Most lenders quote the program you asked for. The comparison is the work.
Looking at a specific home? Send me the address and I will run the numbers: rickykhamis.com/analyze
Equal Housing Opportunity. This is general information, not a commitment to lend or an offer to extend credit. Program rules, agency limits and pricing change, and every file depends on credit approval, property appraisal, income and asset verification and other qualifying factors. Not all applicants will qualify. Figures attributed to an agency above are cited with the issuing agency and the date they were published; confirm the current figure on your own file before you plan around it. Ricky Khamis, NMLS #173141. EPiQ Lending, NMLS #1936984, 7975 N. Hayden Road, Suite A-101, Scottsdale, AZ 85258. Verify any of this at NMLS Consumer Access, the EPiQ Lending profile or the Scottsdale branch page.