California HEA powered by Honest Casa
California is HEA country Check My Equity

California trapped your wealth in your house. Here's the side door.

The Golden State built a perfect equity trap: your home tripled in value, but selling means losing your Prop 13 tax basis and paying capital gains on a six-figure run-up — and refinancing means surrendering a pandemic-era mortgage rate that will never exist again. A California home equity agreement opens the side door: a lump sum of cash for a share of future appreciation, while you keep the house, the basis, the rate, and your monthly budget exactly as they are.

Keep your Prop 13 tax basis — an HEA is not a sale and doesn't reassess your property taxes
Keep your low mortgage rate — nothing is refinanced, and $0/month is added
No income docs, credit from 500 — qualified on the equity California already gave you
Prop 13 basis intactNot a sale — no reassessment
Your 3% rate untouchedNothing is refinanced
$0/monthCA budgets are stretched enough
Share the upsideThe honest cost, spelled out
Your California estimate is 60 seconds away 0%

How much of your California equity do you want to unlock?

Drag the slider — the house, basis, and rate stay put regardless. Check your rate as of .

$150,000

One lump sum, no monthly payments

$15K$500K
Secure ~60 seconds No SSN needed

Let's size the California math

CA home values make this the fun part — best guesses are fine.

ESTIMATED AVAILABLE EQUITY$150,000

What's your credit score range?

Your best estimate is fine — it's confirmed later in the process.

What will the cash do?

This helps tailor your estimate.

What's the property address?

Start typing and select your address — we verify it instantly so your estimate is accurate.

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Unit number is required for condos & townhomes
Address is verified against official U.S. records

Where should we send your estimate?

Please use your full legal name (as it appears on your government-issued ID) and an email and mobile number you control — these details are verified and used in the underwriting process. Inaccurate information can delay your estimate.

Legal first name is required
Legal last name is required
Enter a valid date of birth (MM/DD/YYYY)
Enter a valid email address
Enter a valid 10-digit phone number
How your information is protected: encrypted in transit, used only to prepare your estimate and verify your identity, and never sold to third parties.
Your information is encrypted and never sold

Congrats — you're a fit!

Your scenario is in. Moh — California-based, CA-licensed — will size your estimate and reach out with the numbers, including the honest HELOC comparison.

Requested amount$100,000
Estimated equity$150,000
Property—
What happens next: Watch your email and phone — Moh Alloo at West Capital Lending (Irvine, CA) will personally reach out within one business day with your California HEA estimate and the HELOC comparison. No documents needed until you've seen the numbers.

Fit is based on the answers you provided and is not a loan approval. Loan options are subject to verification, credit approval, and underwriting.

#1 equity state
California homeowners hold more tappable equity than any state in America
$0/month
Cash out without adding a payment — or touching the mortgage rate you'll never see again
Up to $500K
Lump sums sized for California home values
From 500
Credit scores accepted — no income docs either

The three California traps — and the one door

California home wealth is famously locked. Name the locks and the HEA's fit here explains itself.

01

The Prop 13 lock

Your assessed value — and property tax bill — may be decades behind market. Sell, and the next home gets today's assessment (portability helps some 55+ moves, with limits). Staying put preserves a tax subsidy worth thousands a year; the HEA gets cash out while you stay.

Not a sale — no reassessment
02

The rate lock

CA's big balances make refinancing catastrophic math: pulling $150K via cash-out refi on a $600K, 3% mortgage reprices ALL $750K at today's rates. The HEA takes nothing but a slice of future appreciation — the mortgage never notices.

The 3% stays yours
03

The gains lock

Long-held CA homes carry gains far past the $250K/$500K exclusions — selling can mean a six-figure tax event. An HEA isn't a sale: no gains are triggered by taking the cash today. (Your tax professional gets the final word; we'll say that plainly.)

Liquidity without the tax event

Unlocking California equity in 3 steps

No escrow circus, no listing your home, no rate surrender — the process matches the promise.

01

Share your CA numbers

Sixty seconds: home value, mortgage balance, credit range. No SSN, no income fields, no hard credit pull.

~60 seconds
02

Get the California math

Your estimate shows the lump sum, the appreciation share in dollars at realistic CA growth rates, and the HELOC alternative — priced by a team that offers both.

1 business day
03

Cash out, change nothing

Close and receive your lump sum. Your title, your Prop 13 basis, your mortgage rate, and your monthly budget stay exactly where they were.

$0/month after

Why the HEA fits California specifically

Prop 13 makes selling expensive

Decades of capped assessments mean your property tax basis may be a fraction of market value — a benefit that mostly dies at sale. Unlocking equity without a sale preserves one of the best tax positions in America.

The rate-lock trap is worst here

California's jumbo-sized mortgages make the 2021-rate math brutal: refinancing a $700K balance from 3% to today's rates costs thousands per month. An HEA gets the cash out while that irreplaceable rate stays put.

Sharing CA appreciation is a real cost — priced honestly

California appreciates. That makes an HEA's share genuinely more expensive here than in flat states, and we won't pretend otherwise — your estimate shows the dollars at multiple growth rates, next to the HELOC. Informed beats sold.

Local, licensed, both products

We're Irvine-based, California-licensed (NMLS #1566096), and we offer HELOCs alongside HEAs — so the recommendation follows your math, not our inventory.

The California playbook: HEA vs the alternatives

Four ways to reach CA equity — and what each one costs you that the others don't.

HEA · keep everythingNOTHING DISTURBEDSell the houseCash-out refi
Keeps your Prop 13 tax basis Yes — not a sale No — basis resets for the next place Yes
Keeps your low mortgage rate Yes — untouched N/A — mortgage gone No — entire balance repriced
Capital gains triggered now No Yes — on gains above exclusions No
You keep living there Yes No Yes
Monthly payment added None None (but you moved) Yes — on the whole new loan
Income / credit gate None / from 500 None Full doc, ~620+
You keep 100% of future appreciation No — a share is the cost No — you sold all of it Yes
Cash available Up to $500K Everything, minus taxes & the next house Depends on rate pain tolerance

Frequently asked questions

What is a California home equity agreement?
A lump sum of cash (up to $500,000) in exchange for a share of your home's future change in value — settled when you sell, refinance, or buy out the agreement, up to 30 years out. It's not a loan: no interest, no monthly payments, no income documentation, and credit from 500 qualifies. California is the product's natural habitat: huge equity, expensive-to-touch mortgages, and tax reasons to never sell.
Does an HEA trigger a Prop 13 reassessment?
No — an HEA is not a sale or transfer of ownership; you remain on title, and taking one doesn't reassess your property taxes. Preserving a decades-old Prop 13 basis is one of the most California-specific reasons homeowners choose this route over selling. (Property tax specifics are individual — confirm with your county assessor or tax professional.)
Does taking the cash trigger capital gains tax?
Receiving HEA proceeds isn't a sale, so it doesn't itself trigger capital gains the way selling your home would. Gains considerations arrive later, when you actually sell, under whatever rules then apply. For long-held California homes sitting far above the exclusion caps, deferring that event while still getting liquidity is a major part of the appeal. Confirm your specifics with a tax professional — genuinely.
Why not just do a cash-out refinance?
Because California balances make it savage: a cash-out refi reprices your entire mortgage at today's rates. On a typical CA scenario — $600K at 3% — pulling $150K can add thousands per month, forever. The HEA adds $0/month and leaves the mortgage alone. If you have a high current rate anyway, the refi math changes, and we'll show you that too.
Isn't sharing appreciation extra expensive in California?
Honest answer: it can be. California appreciates faster than most states over long periods, and the provider's share scales with it — in a strong decade, the HEA will cost more than HELOC interest would have. That's the real trade for $0/month, no income docs, and no credit gate. Your estimate quantifies it in dollars at multiple CA growth rates so you decide with the actual numbers.
Is this available throughout California?
California is a core state for the HEA program we offer — homeowners across the state, from San Diego to Sacramento, are eligible subject to standard property and equity requirements. Submit the form and your estimate will confirm your property's eligibility specifically.
Can I use this to build an ADU?
It's one of the most popular California uses: cash out equity at $0/month, build the ADU, add both value and rental income. Unlike construction loans, there's no draw schedule, no inspections tied to financing, and no new payment while you build. The appreciation you share later may well include the value you added — factor that into the math your estimate lays out.
What about my kids — this is their inheritance
Two honest notes. First: the share you give up reduces what passes on — that's real. Second: many CA parents run the opposite play — unlock equity now to help kids with their own down payments while prices still allow it, rather than passing a locked asset later. Neither answer is wrong; your estimate gives the numbers to have that family conversation with.
I have strong income and 700+ credit — should I still consider this?
Maybe not, and we'll tell you: with your profile, a HELOC's rate-capped cost plus keeping 100% of CA appreciation often wins. We offer HELOCs across a 90+ lender network and every estimate includes that comparison. The HEA earns its place when payments, income docs, or credit are constraints — or when the no-monthly-bill structure is worth the share to you.
Who's behind this site?
This site is operated by the team at Honest Casa (NMLS #1566096, Equal Housing Lender), headquartered in Irvine, California — offering home equity agreements through a leading HEA provider we partner with, alongside HELOC options across a 90+ lender network. We may receive compensation from the provider or lenders, which is disclosed here. Verify licensing at NMLS Consumer Access.

California made you house-rich. Stop being cash-poor about it.

Your CA estimate in one business day — keep the basis, keep the rate, add no payment.

Check My California Equity
Check My California Equity