Dos & Don’ts for HELOC Native Partners (API)

Dos

• DO clearly display the product type and terms.

  • Include a tooltip or tappable element with a brief product description and overview of a HELOC. (A home equity line of credit (HELOC) lets you borrow money against the equity you have in your home.)

  • Any changes must be submitted for compliance review.

  • Include amount, APR, whether APR is fixed vs. variable, estimated monthly payment, and term length.

• DO ensure the consumer can reasonably compare offers. The more the consumer can do, the better. For example:

  • Sort or filter by: APR, Term, Payment

  • Add language such as, “We think this is a good option, but there may be more.”

    • For example, our disclosures state, “We do not connect you with every lender in the market, so other lenders and loans not listed on our service may be available to you, and those other loans may have different terms and conditions, including lower rates. We cannot guarantee the lowest price or best terms available in the market.”

• DO send us property status for leads (e.g. “rent”, “own with mortgage”, or “own”). EF will exclude renters.

Don’ts

• DO NOT collect or send EF more than 5 pieces of information that constitute an application, per CFPB

  • The 6 pieces of information that constitute an application are Name, Income, SSN, Loan Amount, Address, and Property Value.

  • In our Loans vertical, we require everything but property value, so do not collect/send us that datapoint.