Splitero vs Unison (2026): Which HEI Provider Wins?
The Scout Executive Summary
- Choose Splitero if your credit or income would fail a bank. Splitero accepts scores from 500 and does not verify income. Unison requires a mid-FICO of at least 620 and checks debt-to-income, the highest credit floor among major providers. This single difference decides most applications before cost is ever discussed.
- Choose Unison if you want a clearly disclosed starting-value adjustment. Most home equity investment providers use a value below your appraised home value when calculating the agreement. Unison publicly discloses a 5% reduction, so a $700,000 appraisal would generally start at $665,000 for contract calculations.
- Arizona appreciation is what actually settles it. In slower-appreciation scenarios, Unison’s published 5% risk adjustment may matter more. In stronger-appreciation scenarios, Splitero’s Safety Cap may become more valuable. The better deal still depends on the written offers, including the funding amount, starting value, fees, settlement formula, and timing of the buyout. Phoenix metro has delivered both inside five years, so match the choice to how long you plan to hold.
In this Article
- Splitero vs Unison at a Glance
- Is an Equity Sharing Agreement the Same as an HEI?
- How Do Splitero and Unison Work?
- How Much Do Splitero and Unison Discount Your Home’s Value?
- Which One Lets You Access More of Your Equity?
- Splitero vs Unison: Which One Costs More?
- How Do the Terms and Exit Options Compare?
- Which Is Easier to Qualify For?
- Where Can You Get Each One?
- What Should You Know About Unison’s Litigation?
- Which Is the Better Fit for You?
- When Is Neither One the Right Answer?
- Frequently Asked Questions
Splitero and Unison both hand you cash today for a share of your home’s value later, with no required monthly payment and no stated interest rate. Where they part company is who they will approve, how much they discount your home before the math starts, and how freely you can get out.
This guide puts those differences side by side and works the numbers on an Arizona home. Every figure here can change, so confirm the latest terms with each company before you sign. If you are new to how a home equity investment works, start with the full guide. If you are still narrowing down providers, see the full roundup of top HEI companies in Arizona.
Splitero vs Unison at a Glance
Splitero is far easier to qualify for and more flexible on exit. Unison has the longer track record and applies a smaller discount to your starting value.
| Feature | Splitero | Unison |
|---|---|---|
| Product name | Home Equity Investment (HEI) | Equity Sharing Agreement (ESA) |
| Cash you can access | Up to $500,000 (up to 25% of home value) | Up to $500,000 (up to about 15% of home value) |
| Debt ceiling | Combined loan-to-value around 65% | Maximum LTV 70% at strongest credit, lower as credit drops |
| Up-front fee | Origination 4.99% (minimum $1,500) | Transaction fee taken from proceeds (confirm current figure) |
| Starting value discount | Discounted starting value, size not published | 5% risk adjustment, published |
| What the provider shares | Share of future value measured from the discounted start | Share of the change in value only, up or down |
| Cost cap | Annual Safety Cap limits the return | No published cap on total cost |
| Term length | Up to 30 years, MaturityMatch™ aligns it to your mortgage | Up to 30 years |
| Early buyout | Settle early with no prepayment penalty | Partial buyouts may be available; confirm current terms in writing |
| Shares a loss if home drops | Yes, varies by contract | Depends on exit method and holding period; confirm in your agreement |
| Minimum credit score | 500 | Mid-FICO 620 |
| Income check | None | Yes, with DTI guidelines |
| Eligible properties | Owner-occupied single-family, condo, townhome, 2 to 4 units | Primary residences; confirm other types directly |
| Title vesting | Reported to work with trust and LLC-held title | Typically individuals and joint tenants; certain trusts and LLCs may not qualify |
| States available | About 17 states, including Arizona | 24 states plus D.C. per Unison, including Arizona |
| Founded | 2021 | 2004 |
Terms current as of October; confirm directly with each provider before applying.
Splitero vs Unison Provider Snapshots
Built for homeowners banks turn down.
How it works: Cash now for an agreed share of your home’s future value, measured from a discounted starting value, with an annual Safety Cap. No monthly payments, and the term can be aligned to your mortgage.
Strengths
Credit from 500 with no income or DTI check
Settle any time with no penalty; up to 25% of your home’s value
Tradeoffs
Higher percentage fee at 4.99%
Owner-occupied homes only, and fewer states
The longest track record, with a published 5% risk adjustment.
How it works: Cash now for a share of your home’s change in value, measured from your appraised value less a 5% risk adjustment. No monthly payments, with a 30-year term.
Strengths
Publicly discloses its 5% risk adjustment
Shares the change in value rather than a share of total value
Tradeoffs
620 credit floor and income verification
Buyout and loss-sharing terms vary by agreement; confirm in writing
Curious whether Splitero fits your situation? You can see if you pre-qualify in minutes. Check your Splitero estimate.
Is an Equity Sharing Agreement the Same as an HEI?
Yes. Equity Sharing Agreement, Home Equity Investment, and Home Equity Agreement describe the same category of product under three different brand vocabularies.
Get a preliminary funding estimate with a brief digital check.
Unison markets an Equity Sharing Agreement, or ESA. Splitero, Point, and Hometap market Home Equity Investments, or HEIs. Nada uses Home Equity Agreement, or HEA. All three describe a contract in which a company gives you a lump sum today, records a lien against your property, takes no required monthly payment and charges no stated interest rate, and settles later by taking an agreed share of your home’s value.
The naming matters when you shop, because searching only one term hides providers using another. It also matters legally. Part of what Unison is currently litigating is whether these agreements function as loans regardless of what the industry calls them, which is covered further down this page.
Where the products genuinely differ is not the label. It is the share, the discount applied to your starting value, and the exit terms.
How Do Splitero and Unison Work?
Both give you cash now for a share of your home’s future value with no monthly payments and no interest, but they measure that share from different starting points and against different bases.
See if an HEI is right for you and check your estimate today.
Splitero sets a starting value below your appraisal, does not publish the size of that discount, and takes an agreed share of your home’s future value measured from that lower point. An annual Safety Cap limits how quickly Splitero’s return can climb.
Unison starts from your appraised value less a 5% risk adjustment and shares only the change in value from there, up or down, rather than a share of the total. Unison notes that risk adjustments across the category have ranged from 2% to 30%, and that a higher adjustment lowers your starting value and increases what you owe.
Both give credit for eligible improvements, so neither takes a share of value you added through renovation. You settle either one by selling, refinancing, or buying the investment out.
Featured Partners · No Monthly Payments
- Qualify in minutes. No credit impact.
- Close in as little as 3 weeks1
- Access up to $600,000
- MaturityMatch™ term alignment
- Keep your low-rate mortgage
- Access up to $500,000
1 “Close in as little as 3 weeks” reflects the average timeline under standard conditions. Actual timelines vary based on documentation, title, property location, and local recording or notarization requirements. Timing is not guaranteed.
Terms and conditions apply. Not all homeowners will qualify. Not available in all states. NMLS #1993600, www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org. See nada.co for complete details.
How Much Do Splitero and Unison Discount Your Home’s Value?
Before calculating how much home equity you can access (or how much you may owe when you settle the agreement) home equity investment providers may apply a discount to your home’s appraised value.
Get a preliminary funding estimate with a brief digital check.
Unison publicly discloses a 5% reduction. If your Scottsdale home appraises for $700,000, Unison would use a starting value of $665,000 for the agreement:
That $35,000 difference is not an upfront fee and does not reduce your home’s market value. Instead, it affects the math used later to determine appreciation and your settlement amount.
Splitero does not publicly disclose a standard appraisal discount or starting-value reduction. That makes a direct, apples-to-apples comparison difficult before you receive an offer. If you are considering Splitero, ask the company to state (in writing) whether it applies an initial value adjustment, the percentage used, and exactly how that adjustment affects the future settlement calculation.
Which One Lets You Access More of Your Equity?
Splitero generally lets you reach more of your equity, because it invests up to 25% of your home’s value against Unison’s roughly 15%, even though Unison allows a higher total debt ceiling.
Curious if Splitero’s terms fit your situation? Check if you pre-qualify in minutes. Check Your Eligibility with Splitero →
Unison’s maximum LTV runs to 70% for the strongest credit and steps down as credit weakens. Splitero caps combined loan-to-value around 65%. That looks like a point for Unison, and for a homeowner with excellent credit and a small mortgage it can be. But the investment size cap usually binds first. On a $700,000 Scottsdale home, 25% is $175,000 and 15% is $105,000, and both stop at $500,000 regardless.
The exception is worth naming. Strong credit, a low mortgage balance, and a modest cash need is the profile where Unison’s higher LTV ceiling leaves room Splitero’s tighter equity requirement does not.
Splitero vs Unison: Which One Costs More?
Neither can be pinned to a fixed price, because the largest cost is not the fee. It is the share you hand over at settlement, and both set that during underwriting rather than publishing it.
Access your home equity with pre-qualification in minutes.
Where each one starts the clock
Unison applies a published 5% risk adjustment and shares only the change in value from that point. Splitero does not publicly disclose a standard starting-value adjustment, and its settlement amount is calculated under the HEI agreement using its contract starting value and the home’s later value.
On transparency, Unison is ahead, and 5% is genuinely small next to a category range reaching 30%. Sharing only the change in value rather than a share of the whole further limits what you owe when growth is modest.
Where Splitero protects you instead
Splitero’s Safety Cap limits its total return on an annual basis. Unison publishes no comparable ceiling. In a market that runs hot, that cap may be the more valuable of the two protections.
Which Structure Fits Arizona Specifically
This is where a local answer beats a national one. Phoenix metro has produced both market conditions inside a single five-year window, with a fast run through 2020 to 2022 and a notably flatter stretch afterward as rates rose.
The takeaway is directional rather than predictive. In slower-appreciation scenarios, Unison’s published 5% risk adjustment may matter more. In stronger-appreciation scenarios, Splitero’s Safety Cap may become more valuable. The better deal still depends on the written offers, including the funding amount, starting value, fees, settlement formula, and timing of the buyout.
So which one costs more after 10 years?
We cannot give you a guaranteed dollar winner, and you should be skeptical of any site claiming to, including ours. Both set their share during underwriting and keep it private, so your real cost depends on the offer you receive, how fast your home grows, and when you settle.
Get a written estimate from each and run the same home value, cash amount, and time frame through both. Model 3%, 5%, and 7% annual growth over 10 years so you see the range. Our Arizona home equity calculator will tell you what you have to work with first.
Before You Sign
Ask both providers for the appraised value, the contract starting value, your cash proceeds after fees, the settlement formula, and the estimated cost to settle after 3, 5, and 10 years.
Compare both offers using the same requested cash amount and a few home-price scenarios.
How Do the Terms and Exit Options Compare?
Both run up to 30 years. Splitero says homeowners can settle early without a prepayment penalty, and Unison says partial buyouts may be available. Loss-sharing and buyout terms can vary by agreement, so confirm both in writing.
See if an HEI is right for your situation and check your estimate today.
Splitero’s MaturityMatch™ can align the term to your remaining mortgage so you are not pushed to buy back before the mortgage is paid off. Unison’s 30-year term is a flat window. Unison’s loss-sharing rules can depend on how you settle the agreement and how long you have held it, so confirm how a sale, refinance, or buyout would be treated under your specific agreement.
Splitero says homeowners can settle early without a prepayment penalty. Unison says partial buyouts may be available, allowing homeowners to reduce Unison’s share without fully ending the agreement. Because buyout options and valuation rules can vary by contract, confirm the current terms in writing before signing.
If there is any real chance you sell or refinance within five years, weight this section above the cost section.
If Maturity Match™ sounds useful, it is Splitero’s standout feature: your investment term follows your mortgage timeline, so there’s no pressure to buy back early. Check what Splitero might offer in minutes with no impact on your credit. →
Featured Partners · No Monthly Payments
- Qualify in minutes. No credit impact.
- Close in as little as 3 weeks1
- Access up to $600,000
- MaturityMatch™ term alignment
- Keep your low-rate mortgage
- Access up to $500,000
1 “Close in as little as 3 weeks” reflects the average timeline under standard conditions. Actual timelines vary based on documentation, title, property location, and local recording or notarization requirements. Timing is not guaranteed.
Terms and conditions apply. Not all homeowners will qualify. Not available in all states. NMLS #1993600, www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org. See nada.co for complete details.
Which Is Easier to Qualify For, Splitero or Unison?
Splitero, and not by a small margin. This is the clearest difference between the two.
Get a preliminary funding estimate with a brief digital check.
Splitero accepts credit scores from 500 and does not check income, employment, or debt-to-income. Unison states applicants generally need a mid-FICO of at least 620, verifies income, and applies LTV and DTI guidelines that tighten as credit weakens. Unison has the highest credit floor among the major providers in this category.
For retirees drawing down assets, self-employed owners with variable income, or anyone rebuilding credit, that gap decides the question outright. A score between 500 and 620 removes Unison from consideration entirely.
Title vesting is the other divider. Unison states it typically works with owners holding title as individuals or joint tenants, and that properties held in certain trusts and LLCs may not be eligible. Splitero is reported to work with trust and LLC-held title, though not in its own published materials, so get it in writing. Our guide to HEI approval for property in an LLC or trust covers what underwriting asks for.
Where Can You Get Each One?
Unison operates in more places. Unison’s own FAQ lists 24 states plus Washington, D.C., while Splitero covers about 17. Both serve Arizona, so Valley homeowners can consider either.
Outside Arizona, footprint may make the decision for you. Check each company’s current state list directly rather than relying on any comparison table, since both have been expanding.
What Should You Know About Unison’s Litigation?
Unison is facing active legal challenges over how its equity sharing agreements are structured and marketed, and that belongs in your decision alongside the product terms.
As of 2026, reporting describes class actions in California and Colorado and a suit in Washington, D.C., alleging the agreements function as disguised high-cost loans. In a 2025 case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that a Unison agreement met Washington State’s statutory definition of a reverse mortgage loan. The ruling applied Washington law and did not create a nationwide rule for all HEI agreements. The broader legal landscape remains unsettled. These matters are unresolved, and Unison disputes the claims.
We are not in a position to predict outcomes, and unproven allegations are not findings. What we would say is that the results could affect how these agreements are regulated and disclosed. Read your agreement closely, ask Unison directly about the litigation, and consider independent legal advice before signing.
Splitero vs Unison: Which Is the Better Fit for You?
The right pick depends on which of these matters most to you rather than on an overall winner.
Scout’s Tip: If Splitero’s flexibility on credit and exit sounds like the better match, prequalification takes about two minutes. Check what Splitero might offer with no impact on your credit.
When Is Neither One the Right Answer?
Both companies focus on homes you live in, so a rental or investment property rules out this matchup rather than the category.
If your property is not your primary residence, Point funds second homes and investment properties, and our guide to HEIs on rental and investment property covers the rules. If you need to draw money repeatedly rather than once, no HEI does that and a line of credit is the right shape; see the Arizona HELOC guide. And if you can comfortably carry a monthly payment, a home equity loan will usually cost less than sharing appreciation, which our Arizona home equity rates page tracks.
Related comparisons
- Full Splitero review
- Full Unison review
- Full Point review
- Full Hometap review
- Full Nada review
- Hometap vs Unison comparison
- Point vs Splitero comparison
- Splitero vs Hometap comparison
- Nada vs Splitero comparison
Splitero vs Unison Frequently Asked Questions
Get a preliminary funding estimate with a brief digital check.
Splitero, clearly. It accepts scores from 500 and does not verify income. Unison states applicants generally need a mid-FICO of at least 620 and checks debt-to-income. A score between those two numbers leaves Splitero as the only option of the pair.
Yes. Equity Sharing Agreement, Home Equity Investment, and Home Equity Agreement are three names for the same category. Unison uses ESA, Splitero and Point use HEI, Nada uses HEA. The differences that matter are the share, the discount, and the exit terms, not the label.
Splitero accepts credit scores as low as 500 and does not require income or debt-to-income documentation, which makes it one of the most accessible providers in the category.
Unison applies a 5% risk adjustment to your independently appraised value, which it publishes. On a $700,000 home that sets the starting value at $665,000. Unison notes adjustments across the category have ranged from 2% to 30%.
Unison’s loss-sharing rules can depend on how you settle the agreement and how long you have held it. Confirm how a sale, refinance, or buyout would be treated under your specific agreement. Splitero shares losses subject to contract terms, so confirm the specifics of your agreement.
Splitero says homeowners can settle early without a prepayment penalty. Unison says partial buyouts may be available, allowing homeowners to reduce Unison’s share without fully ending the agreement. Because buyout options and valuation rules can vary by contract, confirm the current terms in writing before signing.
Splitero in most cases. It invests up to 25% of home value against Unison’s roughly 15%, though both cap at $500,000. Unison allows a higher LTV, so a strong-credit homeowner with a small mortgage may find the gap narrower.
Yes, both operate in Arizona, so Valley homeowners can compare real offers rather than being limited to one.
That is your call to make with proper advice. As of 2026 Unison faces active class actions and a 2025 Ninth Circuit ruling holding that a Unison agreement met Washington State’s statutory definition of a reverse mortgage loan, which applied Washington law and did not create a nationwide rule. The matters are unresolved and Unison disputes them. Read the agreement carefully and consider consulting an attorney.
Not from these two. Both focus on homes you live in. Point funds second homes and investment properties if your property is not your primary residence.
No. Neither charges interest or requires a monthly payment. You settle in one lump sum later by selling, refinancing, or buying the investment out.
You settle, by selling the home, refinancing, or buying the investment out with cash. Neither company allows partial payments along the way, so settlement is a single lump sum whenever it happens.
Scout’s Tip: Not sure an HEI is the right path at all? Our Arizona home equity rates page tracks today’s HELOC and home equity loan pricing for local homeowners, so you can weigh a monthly-payment option before giving up a share of your home’s value.
EquitySquirrel is an educational resource operated by Scout Media LLC, not a lender or HEI provider. This content does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. HEI and ESA terms vary by provider and are subject to change; confirm current terms directly. Calculations shown are illustrative and do not represent an offer from any provider. Consult a licensed financial professional before making decisions about your home equity. Aleksandra Kadzielawski, Lic #SA694336000.
