Equity Sharing Agreements

We can provide up to 15% of the current value of your home by tapping into your existing home equity.

The most we can invest in a single home is $500,000, but most of our investments are less than that. Unison’s minimum investment size is $30,000.

Of course, the exact amount we can invest depends on your unique situation. Please request a free estimate to see how much we can provide you.

Residents of the following U.S. states are currently eligible to apply for a Unison Home Equity Investment:

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We’re constantly working to bring Unison to more people. If we haven't yet arrived in your state, we encourage you to check back here often for updates or follow us on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.

A home appraisal is a report from a qualified professional that estimates the value of a home. When you buy a home, you will usually hire an appraiser to visit the home, review its condition and characteristics, find comparable properties that have recently sold in the area, and provide both you and the seller of the home with a fair estimate of its value.

At Unison, we require home appraisals to provide an accurate valuation for your equity sharing agreement. To obtain an unbiased valuation, we use Appraisal Management Companies (AMCs).

AMCs are far-and-away the preferred means for obtaining appraisals in real estate transactions. They provide a “firewall” between financial institutions and appraisers, as required by federal guidelines.

Please also note that the appraisal may return a value in which Unison is unable to invest. In those cases a Unison equity sharing agreement may not be available for you.

Note: after an AMC provides appraised value for your home, Unison applies a 5.0% Risk Adjustment to account for appraisal uncertainty, and to deliver your funds more quickly.

Costs of Appraisals
In addition to our standard 3.9% transaction fee, customers who obtain an equity sharing agreement from Unison are responsible for the cost of their home appraisal. (There is no appraisal fee for customers who choose not to work with Unison). If you happen to have a recent appraisal that meets standard criteria, let us know and Unison will consider using that one instead.

We believe that if you make improvements to your home (beyond regular maintenance) that boost its value, you should get all the benefits. That’s why we use a tool called a Remodeling Adjustment.

To qualify for a Remodeling Adjustment, you need to work with licensed contractors and fully document the project. We then use an independent appraiser to determine how the work changed the value of your home, making sure you receive full benefits. Keep in mind that some renovations add more value than others and some don’t add any new value at all. Whenever you are thinking about a project it is always a good first step to reach out to our team. It’s important to note that the Remodeling Adjustment doesn’t apply if you end the agreement in the first three years.

Since your home is yours, you are always free to sell it at any time during your agreement with us. However, Unison equity sharing agreements have a restriction period during which some features will not be available.

1. Sharing in the losses if you sell: In the case you wish to move in the first five years, the transaction would proceed as usual except if the home’s value has gone down. During the restriction period, Unison does not share in a decrease of value - meaning the Ending Agreed Value for your property will be at least equal to the Original Appraised Property Value, even if your property value has decreased since the start of your agreement. Thus, at a minimum, you’ll have to pay the Initial Payment (together with any amounts attributed to the Risk Adjustment)

2. Remodeling Adjustment: Unison will not share in the value you add via remodeling projects. However, you are eligible for a remodeling adjustment only after the third anniversary of your Unison agreement.

During the term of your agreement with Unison, you are required to maintain your property in good condition, subject to normal wear-and-tear.

If you do not, when the agreement ends the value of your property will most likely be less than it would have been if it had been properly maintained, and this would not be fair to Unison. When this is the case, a Deferred Maintenance Adjustment may apply when performing the settlement calculations.

Since the loss in value would be due to your failure to maintain the property, the Deferred Maintenance Adjustment allocates all of the loss in value due to improper maintenance to you, so that Unison does not share in it.

One or more appraisals, inspections or repair estimates obtained from independent third-party providers are used to determine the amount of the Deferred Maintenance Adjustment.

Unison is committed to a fair process to determine the amount of the Deferred Maintenance Adjustment. In a rare instance in which we are unable to agree in good faith on the amount, the issue will be determined through arbitration.

More detail about the Deferred Maintenance Adjustment can be found in the Unison HomeOwner Program Guide.

You can sell your home at any time. (After all, it’s your home!) Whenever you choose to sell, you'll need to notify Unison and send us copies of certain documents related to the sale -- such as appraisals, inspections, title reports, etc. When your sale of the home closes, you will pay Unison the amount you owe us from the escrow.

Since Unison's funding is not intended to be short-term financing, we cannot share any loss in the value of the home if you sell it within the restriction period.

Unison technically has the right to foreclose on your property to protect its investment, but we would much rather see you stay in your home. That's why we will always give you a chance to fix any default. As an investor in your property, we share your desire to protect the equity in the home. In certain circumstances, if you are facing foreclosure by your lender, we might work with you to sell your home in an orderly "non-distressed" fashion which would maximize the sale price, protect the equity in the home, and preserve your credit.

Because we want the best for our shared investment, we see foreclosure as a last resort.

Should this become your situation, we ask that you contact us immediately so that we can connect you to relevant resources and strategize together on the best course of action for you and your home.

You always remain the sole owner of your property and can decide to sell your home at any time. After 30 years, you will need to either buy out Unison’s investment or sell the home.

If you ever find yourself unable to make your mortgage payments, Unison may work with you to find a resolution that is best for everyone, which could include the sale of your home.