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Five in the Smarter Loans network, the same five that serve the rest of the province on the home equity loans in British Columbia page, 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%. Vancouver's prices make that line worth a great deal: on a $1,500,000 home with $900,000 owing, the ceiling is $1,200,000, so $300,000 is available; on the same home with $1,200,000 owing, nothing is, and a second mortgage from a private lender above the line is priced at the top of the range for the risk that a forced sale would not cover both loans. An appraisal, not the assessment or the listing price, sets the value the lender uses. 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. Refinancing the first mortgage instead is a different decision, and the mortgage refinancing page covers the penalty arithmetic.
Reviewed by Rafael Rositsan, Co-Founder and CEO, Smarter Loans. Last reviewed 25 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 Vancouver homes, the same five that serve all of British Columbia, from $20,000 to $100 million from 4%. Four consider poor credit and one sets no minimum.
Federal rules cap a line of credit at 65% of the home's value and everything secured against the home at 80%. On a $1,500,000 home with $900,000 owing, $300,000 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 HELOC is a line you draw and repay as you need it, interest-only on the drawn amount, at the lower end of the range, for a borrower a bank will approve. A second mortgage is one sum at the higher end, for a borrower a bank will not.
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.
