Choosing between an equity sharing agreement and a home equity investment often comes down to the details. This side-by-side compares Unison and Point on funding, cost, eligibility, and flexibility, so you can look past their similar headlines and find the better fit for your goals.
Unison and Point both let you turn part of your home equity into cash today without a new monthly payment or interest, in exchange for a share of your home’s future change in value. The clearest difference between them is how each sets the starting value it measures that change against: Unison applies a 5 percent risk adjustment, while Point’s is far larger at 27 percent, and that gap affects how much of your home’s future change you keep. Unison also considers the value that renovations may add to your home’s overall change in value while Point currently does not. Unison offers an Equity Sharing Agreement, and Point offers a Home Equity Investment. Here is how the two compare.
What Is a Home Equity Investment (HEI)?
A home equity investment gives a homeowner cash upfront in exchange for a share of the home’s future change in value, with no new monthly payments and no interest. It is one way to access home equity without taking on more debt, and the category goes by several names across the industry, including home equity investment, home equity agreement, and home equity contract.
Unison and Point share the same basic shape. You receive a lump sum today, the company places a lien on your home, and you settle the agreement later, when you sell, refinance, or buy the company out. Neither product is a loan. There is no interest and no monthly payment with either one. Instead, the company’s return depends on what happens to your home’s value over time. Most HEIs share in the total value of the home. Point is one of the only companies that, like Unison, shares only in the change of value.
Unison vs. Point at a Glance
Here is a high-level view before the details. The figures reflect each company’s published terms, and the sections that follow explain what they mean for you.
Point figures reflect Point HEI as of August 2026; Unison figures reflect Unison’s Equity Sharing Agreement page and FAQs as of August 2026. Terms are subject to change; verify current terms directly with each provider.
How Much Money You Can Access
With Unison, you can access up to 15 percent of your home’s value, up to a maximum of $500,000. Point also advertises funding up to $600,000, or up to about 20 percent of home value. With either company, the amount you are actually offered depends on your home’s value, your existing mortgage balance, and your available equity, not just the advertised maximum.
How the Risk Adjustment Works
A risk adjustment is the percentage a company subtracts from your home’s appraised value to set the baseline it measures future change against. The smaller that adjustment, the closer your starting point is to what your home is actually worth.
Unison’s risk adjustment is 5 percent. On a home appraised at $500,000, that sets an Original Agreed Value of $475,000, and every future gain or loss is measured from that $475,000, not from the initial appraisal amount. Point’s risk adjustment is much larger, about 27 percent as of August 2026, which on that same $500,000 home would set a starting value of roughly $365,000.
That difference matters because a lower starting value lets a company share in more of your home’s gains and less of its declines. Unison’s smaller adjustment keeps its baseline closer to your home’s real value, so you keep more of the future change.
Figures in this article are for illustration purposes only. They are not based on a real agreement, and terms and conditions apply.
How Future Change in Value Is Shared
Both companies share in your home’s future change in value, meaning both gains and losses, measured from their respective starting values. As a rule of thumb, Unison’s share of the future change in value is roughly four times the percentage of home value you access.
With Unison, the downside sharing comes with clear conditions: it applies only after a restriction period, depending on the agreement, and only if you sell your home rather than buy Unison out. The restriction period with Unison is typically three years, but can be up to five years for less common situations like a non-owner occupied property. There is no cap on the share of a decline Unison can absorb, though the amount you owe Unison is never less than $0.
During that restriction period, an Equity Appreciation Limit works in your favor by capping how much of your home’s increase Unison can share in, starting at a set percentage in the first year and adjusting over time. It offsets the fact that downside sharing has not yet begun.
Point also shares in both increases and decreases, but measured from its lower, risk-adjusted baseline. Because that baseline sits roughly 27 percent below the appraised value, your home can lose a meaningful amount of value and still remain above Point’s starting point, in which case Point would not share in that decline. Unison’s near-appraised baseline makes its share of a decline more likely to actually reduce what you owe if home values fall.
Both structures are legitimate, and which one costs less depends on your situation:
Point’s larger risk adjustment secures a bigger share of your home’s growth from day one, and it makes Point’s downside sharing unlikely to apply unless values fall sharply. In return, Point’s percentage share of your home’s change in value can be smaller than Unison’s for the same cash, so over a long hold in a strongly growing market, Point can work out to a lower overall cost.
Unison’s smaller adjustment keeps its starting point closer to your home’s real value and makes its share of any decline more likely to help you. The better trade-off depends on how long you plan to hold and how confident you are about future growth.
Term Length and Buyout Flexibility
Both companies offer terms of up to 30 years, and both let you settle early through a sale, a refinance, or a buyout, with no prepayment penalty. Unison adds flexibility with early and partial buyout options, so you can pay back part of the agreement to reduce Unison’s share without ending it entirely. Point does not offer partial buyouts; its agreement can only be settled in full.
Eligibility Requirements
Unison looks at more than your home. Qualifying involves a credit review, income verification, and underwriting alongside an assessment of your home’s value, with a minimum credit score of 620. Point’s published requirements are lower, including a minimum credit score around 500, no income requirement, and a minimum home value of about $155,000.
Lower requirements can look like an advantage, but in this category they usually mean the company is taking on more risk. In Point’s case, the company offsets that risk with a much larger risk adjustment that secures a larger share from day one. It is good that options like Point exist to serve homeowners across a range of financial situations. Still, many homeowners who meet Unison’s higher standards may be overqualified for Point, and may not need to accept a larger risk adjustment to get the cash they want. Both companies also require the home to be owner-occupied or to meet other property-type rules, and both are available only in select states. Unison publishes its state list directly.
An Honest Fees Comparison
Both options carry an upfront fee and standard third-party closing costs, and neither charges monthly payments or interest. The headline percentages look similar, but a few details differ.
One detail is worth noting: because Point’s processing fee carries a $2,000 minimum, on a smaller amount of cash it can work out to a higher effective percentage than the 3.9 percent headline suggests, while Unison’s fee stays proportional.
Getting the Most Out of Either Option
A few practical steps can make either agreement work harder for you. If you are planning renovations, ask how improvements are treated before you start: Unison offers what it calls a Capital Improvement Adjustment (also known as a Remodeling Adjustment), which can carve the value your projects add out of the company’s share. Consider that this is something Point does not currently offer. You can read more about how Unison shares home value changes. It is also worth asking how early or partial buyouts work, and how each company’s underwriting will factor into your final offer.
Choosing the Right Equity Sharing Option for Your Needs
Choosing between an equity sharing agreement and a home equity investment comes down to a few personal factors: how much of your home’s future change in value you are willing to share, how long you plan to stay, and how easily you expect to qualify. There is no single best option. If you expect strong long-term growth and want to keep more of it, a lower risk adjustment matters most; if qualifying quickly is your priority, eligibility terms may weigh more heavily. Unison’s own Unison vs. Point comparison goes deeper on this exact question.
Unison and Point are not the only companies offering this kind of agreement. Others, such as Hometap and Unlock, operate in the same space, so it is worth comparing any provider on the same factors and confirming which ones are available where you live. When you are ready, the clearest next step is to talk with a representative from either company and review your own numbers. Take the time you need; a decision like this should fit your plans, not a deadline.
Published Originally on — https://www.sfexaminer.com/marketplace/unison-vs-point-how-the-two-home-equity-options-compare/article_55c7891c-3912-4a39-ae11-ad4e9fd3f067.html
Comments
Log in or sign up to join the conversation.