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Five in the Smarter Loans network, from $20,000 to $100 million, from 4% depending on the product and your credit. Four of the five consider poor credit and one sets no minimum score, because the home is the security and the lender is underwriting the equity more than the borrower; every one wants $1,500 a month in income to service the payment. One of the five pays out within two days of approval; the others wait for an appraisal and a title search first. One of the five is a reverse-mortgage lender, which lends to owners aged 55 and over against the home with no monthly payment, a different product from the other four.
The number that decides it is 80%. Federal rules cap a home equity line of credit at 65% of the home's value and everything secured against the home, first mortgage included, at 80%. On a $400,000 home with $250,000 owing, the ceiling is $320,000, so $70,000 is available; on a Vancouver home worth three times that, the same arithmetic releases three times the sum, which is why a home equity loan in BC is often the biggest loan its owner takes after the mortgage itself. A second mortgage from a private lender can be priced above the 80% line, at the top of the range, for the risk that a forced sale would not cover both loans. The home equity loans in Canada page sets the products out side by side.
A line of credit at the low end of the range, drawn and repaid as you need it, interest-only on what you have drawn, for a borrower a bank or credit union will approve. A second mortgage at the higher end, lent in one sum, for a borrower they will not: bruised credit, self-employed income, or a first mortgage with a penalty too large to break. A reverse mortgage for an owner aged 55 or over who wants the equity without a payment, with the interest added to the balance and settled when the home is sold. On $70,000, interest-only at 8% is about $467 a month; at 16% it is about $933.
| Home equity line of credit | Second mortgage | |
|---|---|---|
| Where in the lenders' ranges | From 4% at the lower end | Toward the top of the range, from a private lender |
| How the money arrives | Drawn as you need it, repaid and redrawn | One sum |
| Payments | Interest only on what you have drawn | Fixed, or interest only for a set term |
| Federal limit | 65% of the home's value on the line, 80% on everything secured against the home | Inside the same 80%, or above it from a private lender |
| Who it fits | A borrower a bank or credit union will approve | A borrower they will not: bruised credit, self-employed income, a first mortgage too costly to break |
| On $70,000, interest only | About $467 a month at 8% | About $933 a month at 16% |
Payment figures are illustrative.
Ownership, a recent property tax notice, your current mortgage statement, and $1,500 a month in income from any regular source. The lender orders an appraisal and searches the title; both cost money and both come before the decision. Poor credit is priced rather than declined by four of the five lenders listed. If the purpose is to replace your first mortgage rather than add to it, the mortgage refinancing page covers the penalty arithmetic and the mortgages in Canada page the lenders that refinance.
Reviewed by Vlad Sherbatov, Co-Founder and President, Smarter Loans. Last reviewed 24 September 2026. Lender figures are the lenders' published terms as checked August 2026; the cost examples are illustrative.
Five in the Smarter Loans network lend against British Columbia homes, from $20,000 to $100 million from 4%. Four consider poor credit and one sets no minimum, because the home is the security.
Federal rules cap a line of credit at 65% of the home's value and everything secured against the home at 80%. On a $400,000 home with $250,000 owing, $70,000 is available under the 80% line.
Yes. Four of the five lenders listed consider poor credit, and a second mortgage from a private lender is the product built for it; the price is a rate toward the top of the range rather than a decline.
A reverse mortgage lends to an owner aged 55 or over against the home with no monthly payment; the interest is added to the balance and settled when the home is sold. One of the five lenders listed offers one.
One of the five lenders listed pays out within two days of approval; the rest wait for an appraisal and a title search first, so a home equity loan takes longer than an unsecured one.
