T
Trevor M.
★★★★★
Three banks turned down my HELOC because I'm self-employed. Lighthouse had me approved in a day. $80K line open. I only pay interest on the $30K I've drawn. I sleep again.
From 4.95% on qualifying files. Draw only what you need, pay interest only on what you use.
The Ontario HELOC market in 2026
The 2024 OSFI guidelines tightened bank HELOC qualifying. Stress-test thresholds went up. Income and credit minimums got stricter. Your equity didn't change, but the door to it at most banks did. Alternative HELOC lenders write their own rules and shop on home equity first.
Banks underwrite paperwork. We shop lenders who underwrite your home equity.
Honest illustration at a HELOC rate of 5.99% (about prime + 1.04%). Your real number depends on equity, lender, and credit.
*Monthly payment comparison assumes both balances paid down over a 5-year term, at a Lighthouse HELOC rate of 5.99% (blended Ontario) vs. your current consumer-debt rate. Closing costs and your actual lender rate disclosed in writing 2 business days before signing. Illustration only, not a binding offer.
We shop 40+ Ontario lenders, run the numbers, and bring you the lowest HELOC rate you qualify for. No paperwork piles. No T4 grilling.
A 3-step form. Home value, what you need, your contact. No income docs to start.
A licensed broker compares HELOC rates and terms across 40+ Ontario lenders. Approval typically within 24 hours.
Use what you need, when you need it. Interest only on the drawn balance, principal on your own timeline. Funds typically wired in 7-10 business days. Re-draw against the line in the future without reapplying, as long as you stay within your approved limit.
Same homeowner ($75K of consumer debt, bruised credit, $700K home with $400K first mortgage) running each option.
| Feature | Stay on credit cards | Bank HELOC | Personal loan | Lighthouse HELOC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approved when the bank says no | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Rate under 10% APR | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Revolving access (draw, repay, draw again) | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Funded within 7–10 days | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Qualifies on equity, not income or score | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Pay interest only on what you use | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ |
*Illustrative. Real terms vary by file. All disclosures provided in writing 2 business days before signing per FSRA rules.
A HELOC works like a credit card secured against your home equity, but at a fraction of the rate. Approved for $200K but only need $50K right now? Draw the $50K, pay it back over time, draw again whenever the next reno, tuition bill, or opportunity comes up. No new application, no fresh appraisal, no waiting.
On a $200K HELOC where you've drawn $50K, you pay interest on $50K. The other $150K sits available with $0 carrying cost. Some bank HELOCs add inactivity or standby fees on the unused balance. We shop lenders who don't, so your unused equity stays free.
We compare HELOC rates and terms across 40+ Ontario lenders. Qualifying files start at prime + 0.50% (currently 4.95%). That's a full 15+ points below most credit cards (19.99-22.99% APR), well under personal loans (8-15%), and a fraction of what store financing costs. The lower the rate, the more of your payment goes to principal, not interest.
Banks decline HELOCs on score, income, and stress-test math. Our alternative-lender network underwrites on the equity in your property. Bruised credit, missed payments two years ago, an active consumer proposal, self-employment income that's hard to prove: none of it is automatic disqualification when there's sufficient equity in the home.
Bank HELOC approvals can take 3-4 weeks of back-and-forth, even for clean files. Through our private and alternative lender network, approval typically lands within 24 hours. Once you accept, the appraisal and lawyer paperwork is coordinated for you, and funds are usually wired in 7-10 business days. Urgent files have closed in under 7.
Lighthouse Lending is a FSRA-licensed Ontario mortgage brokerage (Lic. #13301). Every quote is delivered in writing two business days before signing, per FSRA rules. Federal Criminal Code caps interest at 35% APR. You can verify our licence, our reviews, and our complaint record before you ever talk to a broker.
4.9/5 · 192+ reviews
Three banks turned down my HELOC because I'm self-employed. Lighthouse had me approved in a day. $80K line open. I only pay interest on the $30K I've drawn. I sleep again.
We needed a HELOC for the reno and a buffer. The bank kept stalling. Lighthouse funded in 9 days. We've drawn, repaid, drawn again. Exactly how a HELOC should work.
Bruised credit and CRA arrears. Every bank ghosted me on the HELOC application. Lighthouse just kept working. Approved. Funded. Honest people.
Retired, fixed pension, big property tax hike. The bank wouldn't even take the HELOC application. Lighthouse approved me on equity. Felt human.
Called expecting a sales pitch. Got the math instead. They walked me through every fee, then let me decide.
The bank wanted a full refinance at 5.89% just to give me a HELOC. I just needed the line. Lighthouse opened it and left my first mortgage alone. Saved thousands.
Outcomes vary. Names abbreviated for privacy. Quotes paraphrased from Google reviews and case files. Your own quote, rate, and savings depend on your situation.
Every fee (broker, lender, legal, appraisal) listed in writing at least 2 business days before you sign. If a number changes, you walk free.
Your information stays between you and your assigned Lighthouse broker. We never sell, share, or rent your details. Period.
Don't like the offer? Walk. Zero obligation, zero cost. We'd rather lose the file than push you into the wrong product.
Bank HELOC qualifying rules tightened under the 2024 OSFI guidelines. Stress-test thresholds went up. Alternative HELOC lenders kept their criteria steady.
Your equity is the same today as it was last quarter. Lender appetite for HELOCs is not guaranteed to be. Lock the quote, hold the rate, decide later.
A credit check is part of qualifying you, and a single inquiry typically causes a small, temporary dip (usually 5 points or less) that recovers within a few months. The bigger story is what happens AFTER you fund the HELOC: if you use it to consolidate maxed-out credit cards, your credit utilization ratio drops dramatically, which is one of the largest single factors in your score. Most clients see their score rise within 60-90 days of consolidation, often by 30-80 points.
Yes. This is most of what we do. Banks underwrite on paperwork. Private and alternative lenders underwrite on home equity. If you have sufficient equity in the property, the following do NOT automatically disqualify you: bruised credit scores, recent missed payments, accounts in collection, an active consumer proposal, or a discharged bankruptcy. The trade-off is rate. Lenders comfortable with credit complexity charge slightly more than the bank prime stack, but it's still a fraction of what credit cards cost.
Most lenders allow up to 80% of your home's appraised value, combined with whatever you still owe on your first mortgage. Some alternative lenders push to 85% or 90% on the right files. Worked example: if your home appraises at $700,000 and your first mortgage balance is $400,000, then 80% of $700K is $560K, minus the $400K you owe, leaves up to ~$160,000 available as a HELOC. We'll run your exact number against current lender appetite when we look at the file.
Three pieces. Rate: typically 4.95-7.99% depending on equity, credit, and lender, with the best rates reserved for the cleanest files. That's well below 19.99-22.99% on credit cards or 8-15% on personal loans. Closing costs: appraisal runs $300-$700, legal $1,000-$1,600, and lender/admin fees typically 1-3% of the line on alternative-lender files. Bank HELOCs are usually lighter on fees but harder to qualify for. Ongoing: interest is calculated only on what you've drawn, so the unused portion of your line carries no cost on most lender plans. Every fee gets disclosed in writing two business days before you sign, per FSRA rules. No surprises at the closing table.
Not unless you stop paying. A HELOC is secured against your home, the same as your first mortgage, which is why the rate is so much lower than unsecured options. Here's the lender's incentive: foreclosing on a homeowner costs them legal fees, lost interest, and reputational damage, often more than they'd recover. Real-world default rates on equity-secured Canadian lending sit well under 1%. Our job up front is to structure a payment you can actually afford based on your real cash flow, so default never becomes the conversation. If circumstances change later, lenders almost always work with borrowers on temporary adjustments before any legal step.
Both use your home equity as collateral, but the mechanics differ. A HELOC is a revolving line of credit, like a credit card secured against the house. You draw what you need, pay interest only on the drawn balance, and re-draw later without reapplying. Best for ongoing flexibility, staged renovations, or a buffer you may or may not use. A 2nd mortgage is a lump-sum loan with a fixed amount and fixed monthly payments over a set term. Best when you know exactly how much you need and want predictable payments, like a one-shot debt consolidation. Rates on 2nd mortgages run slightly higher than HELOCs (typically 7-10%), so we compare both side-by-side using your numbers and recommend the one that costs less over your real timeline.
Approval typically lands within 24 hours of submitting a complete application. From approval to funded money in your account is usually 7-10 business days, with the timeline driven mostly by the property appraisal (often 2-3 days to book and complete) and the lawyer's title work (typically 4-6 days). Urgent files (CRA arrears, time-sensitive renovations) have closed in under 7. Bank HELOC files routinely take 3-4 weeks for the same work, partly because their underwriting queues are longer and partly because they don't prioritise. We tell you the realistic close window the moment we look at your file, not a marketing window.