What is the process for HomeLight's Buy Before You Sell?

How do I submit a client?

You can access the lender lead submission portal directly through HomeLight's lender website. On the homepage, you’ll find a button labeled “Submit a Client” that will take you to the submission form.

But since you’re already here, you can click this link if you'd like to submit a client. If you are from The Loan Store, please use this link.

How long does the overall process take?

Once you submit your client, you and the agent will receive a next-steps follow-up email. This has the property questionnaire link and property photo guidelines. Once we receive the questionnaire & photos, we’ll have an approval letter sent out within 24 hours.

What is the Program Eligibility Criteria?

With Buy Before You Sell, HomeLight unlocks a portion of your borrower’s equity in their existing home to use on the purchase of their next home.

We know that, sometimes, your borrowers need just a bit more equity to make the deal work. Enter Equity Boost: a feature with Buy Before You Sell that’s designed to help borrowers reach their down payment goals or assist in listing preparations at no extra cost.

With Equity Boost, we’re able to unlock up to 90% CLTV* on the borrower’s existing home to use on the purchase of their next home in two ways:

HELOC on IR
Proof of assets

Your clients can choose to use one or both methods to unlock more equity for their transaction.

* Dependent on borrower’s financial profile, equity position in departing residence, and based on loan officer’s incoming residence estimates on purchase price, down payment, and client income and liabilities; subject to change.

Boost your borrower’s equity with a HELOC on their new residence

HomeLight can advance additional equity through a no-draw HELOC on the borrower’s new residence. To access this, the borrower can prequalify for the no-draw HELOC with a limit matching the total additional equity based on incoming residence estimates on purchase price, down payment, and client income and liabilities.

If the borrower’s departing residence sells at or above target, the HELOC is never drawn on and can be closed or maintained at the client’s discretion.

If the home sells below target, any remaining balance is drawn on the HELOC in order to consummate the sale of the departing property by providing the client a 30-year term to repay the difference.

In order to prequalify your borrower, we require their 1003 or enter prequalification information manually for HomeLightHome Loans to assess eligibility. If eligible, HomeLight would ask for the purchase loan package (1003, 1008, Clear to Close documentation, and credit and income documents) for the final approval once the incoming residence goes under contract.

Once approved, we issue an updated Buy Before You Sell Agreement showing the increased equity available.

Boost your borrower’s equity with assets

If your client needs more funds, we can unlock additional equity for them with proof of assets, such as:

Savings account
401(k)
IRA
Investment or brokerage account
Gift funds

Please note that cryptocurrency, business assets, as well as any assets that are already allocated for purchase of the new home are not accepted.

A minimum credit score of 620 is required for a client to be eligible:

Client has credit score of 620-679: 2x asset requirement
Client has credit score of 680+: 1.5x asset requirement

For proof of assets, we’ll require documentation including the most recent statement for the account with 30 days of transaction history listed.

Once your borrower is approved, we’ll issue an updated Buy Before You Sell Agreement showing the increased equity available thanks to Equity Boost.

For both methods, after the borrower’s departing residence sells, the sale proceeds pay off the equity unlock loan; if there’s a shortfall, the client covers the remaining balance with qualified assets and/or a draw on the new residence HELOC.

Equity Boost is available in all states where HomeLight Buy Before You Sell operates, with the exception of Texas. We are working to bring Equity Boost to Texas soon.

How to get started:

Submit your client for Buy Before You Sell. Please note that a client needs to be approved for both the program and an initial Equity Unlock Amount prior to starting the application process for Equity Boost.
Educate your client about Equity Boost. Talk to your client about the option to unlock more equity through Equity Boost, how the program works, and what documents they’ll need in order to be qualified for either or both options to unlock additional equity.
Submit your client’s documentation in the Lender Portal. For proof of assets, we’ll require documentation including the most recent statement for the account with 30 days of transaction history listed. For the HELOC, you can upload your client’s 1003 or enter pre-qualification information manually for HomeLight Home Loans to assess eligibility. If eligible, we’ll ask for the purchase loan package (1003, 1008, Clear to Close documentation, and credit and income documents) for the final approval once the incoming residence goes under contract.

Once your client is approved, we’ll issue an updated Buy Before You Sell Agreement showing the increased equity available thanks to Equity Boost.

Why should my client use this program?

Clients using HomeLight's Buy Before You Sell find it is the most effective solution to move into their new home before selling the old residence. We enable borrowers to leverage the equity in their departing residence and move into their new home hassle-free. Empty homes also typically sell for more than occupied ones.

More importantly, as a top Loan Officer, you should use this product for the competitive edge it provides. We want agents to go directly to you when they have a client with a pending-sale contingency or they’re short on funds. Forget Zillow & Redfin, OfferPad & Knock - they’ll immediately think of “Joe’s Buy Before You Sell” offering. After all, you presented it to them 2 weeks ago and you’ve been buying them coffee for over 5 years.