Is a Second Mortgage a Good Emergency Plan? What to Know in 2025

Home Equity Debt Consolidation: A Growing Alternative to High-Interest Credit Card Debt

Home Improvement Loans vs. Our Equity Sharing Home Loan: Which Is Better for Renovations?

Using Your Equity: How to Borrow Against Your Home the Smart Way

Should You Tap Into Your Home Equity Now? A 2025 Guide to Smart Borrowing

Are HELOCs and Home Equity Loans Tax-Deductible? Here's What to Know in 2025

HELOC, HELOAN, or Cash-Out Refi? How to Choose the Right Option for Your Home Equity

Should You Use a HELOC or Home Equity Loan to Buy a Second Property?

Understanding First and Second Mortgages: A Quick Guide

What Types of Natural Disasters Do Most Homeowners Insurance Policies Cover?

Did you know your home can finance your dream kitchen?

Can You Use Home Equity to Start a Business?

Equity Sharing Home Loan vs. Small Business Loan: What to Know

Did you know your home can finance an ADU for your aging parents?

Using Home Equity for Big Purchases: HELOC vs. Home Equity Loan

Home Liens Explained: What Every Homeowner Needs to Know

Home Equity for the Win: Reach Your Long-Term Financial Goals

Using the Equity Sharing Home Loan to Help Adult Children with a Down Payment

Renovate Smarter: Unison's Equity Sharing Home Loan with Capital Improvement Adjustment

What is a Personal Loan? Your Guide to Borrowing & Repayment 

Easy Home Improvements That Add Value (Without Hiring a Pro)

The Best Way to Consolidate Debt: Comparing HELOCs, Home Equity Loans, and More

The Best Way to Fund Home Renovations: Comparing HELOCs, Home Equity Loans, and More

What Is a Second Mortgage — and Why Do People Get One?

Can You Have a Good DTI but Low Credit Score? Here’s What to Know

What is LTV?

Summer Home Maintenance: This Season's Steps to Protect Your Best Investment

More Than Just Payments: How Your Home Equity Grows

10 Commonly Overlooked Tax Breaks and Deductions You Might Be Missing

What Are Property Taxes For? How They Work and Why They Matter

What Is DTI? Understanding Your Debt-to-Income Ratio

Equity-Sharing Home Loans vs. HELOCs: Building an Emergency Fund

Tips for Building a Budget and Creating Better Spending Habits

Maintain Now, Save Later: 10 Home Maintenance Tips That Can Prevent Costly Repairs

How to Get Out of Medical Debt: Smart Strategies to Reduce What You Owe

How Much Should I Save for Retirement? A Realistic Guide for Any Income

State vs. Federal Taxes: What’s the Difference – And Why We Pay Both

How Long Will It Take to Do Your Taxes? What to Expect Based on Your Situation

SURVEY: Hidden Costs of Early 401(k) Withdrawals and Alternatives

Should You Use a Home Equity Loan in 2025’s Volatile Market?

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Did you know your home can finance your sanctuary bathroom?

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What is Shared Appreciation? A Shift in Home Equity Financing

How to Prepare for a Home Appraisal: A Step-by-Step Guide 

The Hidden Risks of Credit Cards with 0% APR Promotions

How to Refinance a Second Mortgage

Tips to Help Improve Your Credit Score

Revolutionize Your Home Equity Access: Unison's Partnership Approach vs Traditional Home Equity Loans

 How to Calculate Home Equity 

Breaking New Ground: How Unison Revolutionizes Home Equity Access

Unison's Equity Sharing: An Innovative Alternative to a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) for Debt Consolidation

Maximize Your Home's Potential: Why Unison's Equity Sharing Could Be Smarter Than a 401(k) Loan

Faster Debt Consolidation Relief with Unison's Equity Sharing Home Loan 

Beyond Home Equity: How to Finance Your Next Big Expense: Part III

Smart Financial Solutions: Why Unison's Equity Sharing Home Loan Stands Out from Traditional Debt Consolidation

Beyond Home Equity: How to Finance Your Next Big Expense: Part II

Beyond Home Equity: How to Finance Your Next Big Expense: Part I

2024 Home Equity Report

Potential Downsides of a Reverse Mortgage

Forbes Council: "7 Ways to Tap Into Your Home's Equity" 

Renovations are on the Rise, and With Them, ADUs

APR vs Monthly Payments

Report on Credit Card Debt

How to Pay for Home Improvements

Introducing the Unison Equity Sharing Home Loan

7 Ways to Use Home Equity to Build Wealth

Ways to Use Home Equity for Retirement Income

Alternative Ways to Get Equity Out of Your Home

9 Options for Consolidating Debt

Home Equity Alternatives to a Cash-Out Refinance

How to Take Equity Out of Your Home

What’s the Difference Between a Home Equity Loan & HELOC?

Advantages & Disadvantages to a Home Equity Loan

Advantages & Disadvantages to a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)

Cash-Out Refinance Pros & Cons

What is Home Equity & How Can You Use It?

Cash-Out ReFi vs Home Equity Loan

Coping With an Empty Nest 

What Are ADUs?

What Is An Equity Sharing Agreement?

Unison Takes to the Global Stage at the Innovative Finance Global Summit

What Should I Know About HELOCs?

Climate Change, Natural Disasters, & Home Values: an Overview

Investing in Real Estate: Is an AirBnb Better than Traditional Renting?

The Woes of Winter Maintenance

2022 Unison Home Equity Report

Downsizing vs Aging-in-Place: Considering Retirement

COVID and the Rise of the At-Home Workout 

The COVID Baby Boom that Wasn’t, & the Rise of the Multigenerational Household

Women & Homeownership: An Overview

Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and the Homeownership Race Gap

How to Increase Your Credit Score

The Current and Future State of Homeownership in America 

Should I Renovate My House, or Move?

How Does Climate Change Impact Your Housing Value?

During Your Home Equity Sharing Agreement

Ending the Agreement

Putting Your Home Equity to Work

By Lauren Rosales-Shepard, Content Writer 

During the peak of the <a href="https://www.unison.com/blog/undefined/covid-wfh-part-one">COVID pandemic</a>, many of us were stuck at home. It’s no surprise that, given all this extra time in our houses, there was a resultant surge in home renovations and expansion. However, borrowing costs soon skyrocketed. This slowed home sales and made it prohibitively expensive to tap into home equity to fund larger projects with traditional loan products like a HELOC. 

That’s about to change. 

The Wall Street Journal is <a href="https://www.wsj.com/economy/housing/home-renovation-loans-2025-858e386d">forecasting</a> that remodeling was not merely a COVID phase, but is ramping again. According to a prediction made by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies and its Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity, the annual spending will <a href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-today-dow-sp500-nasdaq-live-10-17-2024/card/remodeling-spending-forecast-to-rebound-next-year-5vYJnzcC4aSF1SIaUCz1?mod=article_inline">increase to $477 billion</a> in the first nine months of 2025, nearing the record of $487 billion for all of 2023. 

More evidence of the resurgence is a recent survey of 475 households, most of which claimed to be waiting for lower rates to use home-equity lines of credit to fund projects. The senior vice president of building products research at John Burns Research & Consulting estimates that this number is just the beginning; he suggests that there is about $30 billion in remodeling spending just waiting for the right moment. 

That moment may be now. Those who bought homes with historically low mortgage rates during the pandemic aren’t likely to move–perhaps ever–which increases the likelihood that they will renovate or expand instead. Now that the Fed has recently lowered interest rates, households may be poised to tap into their equity to fund new projects. 

One very popular new housing project is the construction of <a href="https://www.unison.com/blog/homeownership/what-are-adus">“Accessory Dwelling Units”</a> (ADUs). Also commonly referred to as a “granny house” or “backyard cottage,” an ADU is an additional, self-contained living space attached or adjacent to the primary house on a single family residential lot. Traditionally, as the nickname “granny house” implies, these types of units were often utilized by family members in a multi-generational household. However, in California, <a href="https://therealdeal.com/magazine/november-2024/granny-flats-get-a-glow-up/">recent legislation</a> has both enabled and encouraged the construction of ADUs as rental properties–or even <a href="https://www.planetizen.com/news/2024/08/131136-san-jose-homeowners-can-now-sell-adus-condos">sellable condos</a>. In 2023, Los Angeles County alone permitted <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-07-30/la-is-the-epicenter-of-the-adu-boom-these-surprising-cities-are-building-the-most">more than 45,000</a> ADUs. 

Why the rising popularity? On the one hand, maintaining an ADU as a rental or even an AirBnb means additional, and eventually passive, income. But there are more wide-ranging benefits as well. ADUs are <a href="https://www.nar.realtor/magazine/real-estate-news/commentary/the-eco-friendly-adu-housing-s-game-changer">inherently sustainable</a>, as they are built on existing properties (particularly in urban areas) and therefore don’t contribute to sprawl. Plus, given their compact size, ADUs take fewer raw materials to build, conserving resources. These units are also seen as a way to <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/adus-are-key-to-solving-the-housing-crisis-heres-what-to-know-b40c7672">mitigate the housing shortage</a>. States like <a href="https://states.aarp.org/massachusetts/adus-by-right-are-now-the-law-in-massachusetts-gov-healey-signs-aarp-backed-housing-bill">Massachusetts</a> and <a href="https://coloradonewsline.com/2024/08/12/colorado-law-opens-doors-wider-adu/">Colorado</a> have followed California’s example, paving the way for more homeowners to develop these small units on their land. 

Though a <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-09-19/pilot-program-offers-long-beach-homeowners-low-interest-loans">pilot program in Long Beach</a> is offering $250,000 in low-interest loans to build ADUs, most homeowners are turning to their built-up equity to provide the necessary funds for construction. 

<h3>A New Equity Financing Option: the Unison Equity Sharing Home Loan</h3> 

When it comes to accessing home equity, there is now an additional option. Unison recently launched the Equity Sharing Home Loan, a ten-year fixed, interest-only second mortgage designed specifically to offer homeowners flexibility in their finances via low monthly payments. Through partially-deferred interest and a shared appreciation component, the Equity Sharing Home Loan endeavors to provide below-market rates that enable homeowners to save each month. 

When it comes to renovating or remodeling, the Equity Sharing Home Loan has a particular feature of interest. The Capital Improvement Adjustment is available three years into the loan term, and is intended to offer the homeowner, if they make improvements to the home that boost its value (beyond regular maintenance), the opportunity to apply to maintain all the benefits. In other words, the value added by these improvements would not be part of the future shared appreciation. 

If you’re one of the many homeowners contemplating a renovation project, but hoping to keep your monthly payments low, <a href="https://unison.com/home-loan">learn more</a> about Unison’s Equity Sharing Home Loan today and get a rate estimate with no obligation. 

The content on this page provides general consumer information. It is not legal or financial advice. Unison has provided these links for your convenience, but does not endorse and is not responsible for the content, links, privacy policy, or security policy of the other websites.

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Renovations are on the rise! Learn more about the upward swing, and the burgeoning Accessory Dwelling Unit trend in this blog post. 

Renovations are on the Rise, and With Them, ADUs | Unison Equity Sharing

Renovations and remodeling

Unison's experts have decades of real estate and financial experience. Discover our blog for homeowner tips, navigating financial terms, and more.

Equity Sharing Process, Advice & Testimonials | Unison®

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