Unison vs. Unlock

The Unison Difference

The industry calls every offering in this space a home equity investment (HEI). But Unlock and Unison are fundamentally different, and Unison’s Equity Sharing Agreement stands apart from the rest.

Here's what we do differently:

10-year term vs. 30-year term

Unlock’s term runs for just 10 years. Unison’s can last up to 30, making it an entirely different and more flexible kind of agreement. 

For most homeowners, selling is the most common way to settle the agreement. That means Unlock's 10-year timeline can narrow the window on when you can reasonably decide to sell your house. A decade can feel like plenty of runway now, but markets shift, life circumstances change, and the ability to sell on your terms can disappear faster than expected.

What does it cost? Total value vs. change in value

Beyond the term length, the most significant difference between Unison’s Equity Sharing Agreement and Unlock’s Home Equity Agreement is how we calculate the amount due at the end of the agreement.

Unlock uses a “share of total value” model. At the end of the agreement, they get a percentage of your home’s entire final value. That percentage is calculated by taking the original percentage of home equity you accessed at the start and doubling it. For example, if your home is worth $500,000 and you access $50,000 (10%), your “Unlock Percentage” would be 20%. That means that, at the end, Unlock would receive 20% of your home's total value. 

On the other hand, Unison's Equity Sharing Agreement is built around the future change in your home's value, NOT your home’s total value. If your home grows in value, we share in that growth. If it loses value after the initial restriction period, we share in the downside, too.

Typically, Unison’s share is set at 4x the percentage of the home value you receive. If you access 10% of your home’s value, Unison's share of future change in value would be 40%. 

Here's a concrete example of how Unison and Unlock stack up. Say your home is worth $500,000, you access $50,000, and you settle at 10 years (Unlock's maximum).

In the first scenario, the home lost significant value — 15% down. So, Unison shared in that loss significantly. Our hypothetical homeowner received $50,000 and only returned $30,000 to Unison; paying back less at the end than they got originally. With Unlock, the homeowner would still owe more than they received at the start.

In the second scenario, the home’s value stayed the same, which means the amount paid back to Unison would be close to the cash received. Because Unlock shares in the entire home, not just the change in value, the amount owed would be substantially greater.

And in the final scenario, the home’s value grew by 25% over the 10 years. With a significant change in value, Unison’s share starts to look bigger. In this case, it ended up closer to Unlock’s total cost, though still less. This is because we only share in the change of value, not the entire value of the home.

The total cost with either Unison or Unlock depends on how your home performs. Neither agreement is universally cheaper. However, it’s important to remember that these scenarios represent the maximum 10-year term for Unlock. With Unison, you’d have 20 additional years to sell, refinance, or otherwise end the agreement, when (and how) it makes sense for you. That means more flexibility on your end, but also more potential appreciation to share in.

Remember, most homes tend to appreciate in value over time. And in cases of significant home appreciation, it's possible that the total cost with Unison may end up being more. But, keep in mind that significant home appreciation benefits you, too.

How we account for risk

A risk adjustment is an adjustment made to the appraised value of a home, typical with agreements that are based on a change in value. That’s because companies need to establish a clear starting value of the home for the agreement. Applying a modest risk adjustment to the appraised value helps account for the natural uncertainty in any single appraisal and allows the agreement to close faster, typically without the added cost of multiple appraisals.

Unison's risk adjustment is just 5%. Other companies with similar agreements often apply significantly higher adjustments. Point, for example, typically applies a standard risk adjustment of 27.5%. The higher that number, the further your starting baseline sits below your home's actual appraised value, which changes what providers can call “growth”.

Unlock works very differently. By taking an immediate share of your entire home’s value, they guarantee a significant repayment from Day 1. Unlock doesn’t apply a risk adjustment, because the more valuable your home is, the more they stand to gain. Unison only shares in the change of value, so our share only grows when your home’s value does, too.

Understanding which model you're looking at, and how the starting value is set, is one of the more important things to get clear on before signing any agreement.

Unison has built-in features to help you succeed

We believe in fairness, flexibility, and helping you keep more of the value you create. It’s why we every Unison Equity Sharing Agreement includes these features:

Remodeling Adjustments

Both Unison and Unlock offer renovation adjustments, which can help you reduce the amount paid back by deducting the value your home improvements have added. It's a meaningful benefit for homeowners who want to remodel or renovate, without sharing the value they personally create.

For example, let’s say you use part of your Unison funds to remodel your kitchen. Decades later, when you’re ready to sell, you bring out all the documentation. If the appraiser determines that your kitchen refresh added $40,000 to your home’s value (important: not what it cost to install, but what it added to your home’s value), that $40,000 will be removed from the total appreciation. That shrinks our share and means you keep more of your sale price in your pocket.

Unlock offers this feature, too, but with some more restrictions. Hometap's renovation adjustment only applies to improvements that add $10,000 or more to your home's value, as determined by an independent appraiser. Smaller projects may not qualify, even if they genuinely increased what your home is worth. And because of the shorter term, you have less time to make the renovations you want and have them count towards reducing Hometap’s share.

Unison's Capital Improvement Adjustment (also called a Remodeling Adjustment) is value-based, with no value minimum. First, an independent appraiser determines how much a qualifying improvement added to your home's value. Then, we subtract that value from your home's final value (usually the sale price), meaning we don't share in that additional change in value. The adjustment becomes available after the third year of the agreement.

Flexible Options

We know life can be unpredictable, so we work to keep things flexible. That’s why Unison offers early termination options. That means you can always sell your home or settle the agreement at any time, up to 30 years after signing. Just keep in mind that some features, like downside sharing, only become available after the first few years. 

Unlock also allows for early termination. However, because the maximum term is just 10 years, you have a much tighter timeline in which you’ll need to sell your home or settle the agreement. If life changes or the market turns, you may have less flexibility than you would with a longer-term agreement.

Unlock and Unison both offer partial buyout options. That means either of us can work with you to accept a partial settlement to reduce our share in your equity, without ending the agreement entirely. With comparable HEIs from other providers, including Hometap, that’s often not an option: you can only settle those agreements with a single, lump-sum buyout.

Both of these Unison features exist to help support you on your journey as a homeowner. Our goal is not to take your home’s growth, but to invest in it alongside you — for as long as you need, and not a moment longer.

Clear Terms, Minimal Fees

With a Unison Equity Sharing Agreement, you'll pay a 3.9% origination fee, the cost of the appraisal, and standard closing costs, all clearly presented from the beginning. You'll also have a dedicated home equity expert available to answer questions while you decide, through the closing process, and for the duration of your agreement. 

Unlock charges a 4.9% transaction fee, plus appraisal, inspection, title, escrow, credit, and recording fees. Unlock can also charge “administrative fees” when your HEA ends, or for performing certain actions during the agreement.

Unison works with homeowners in stable situations

Because Unlock’s agreement is set up so that you pay them more than you accessed (even if your home’s value doesn’t grow), they can be less selective in the homeowners they work with. They can offer larger sums and larger percentages of home values to homeowners that may have lower credit scores and fewer options available. Because of that increased risk, their agreement is set up so you owe more money back to them from Day 1.

Unison, on the other hand, works exclusively with homeowners in more stable standings; maintaining among the highest credit and underwriting standards in the industry, including a FICO score minimum of 620. Unison is A+ rated with the Better Business Bureau, has been featured in USA Today, Forbes, and other publications, and we’ve now helped 10,000+ households across the country.

Unison vs. Hometap: The Key Differences