HELOC Lenders With a $700,000 to $1 Million Credit Line

The Quick Read: In the wholesale network Lendmire works with, a line above $500,000 is available only on a primary residence, tops out at $750,000, and caps at 75% combined loan-to-value (CLTV) with a full appraisal. Investment properties and second homes stop at lower limits, and no line in this range goes on a rental held in an LLC.

• Nothing in the network reaches $1 million.
• An investment-property line stops at $500,000 and 70% CLTV, with a 700 minimum credit profile.
• Title must sit with you personally or in a revocable living trust. LLCs, corporations, and partnerships cannot hold title.
• Lenders test your personal credit and debt-to-income ratio. They do not test the rent.
• Lendmire is a mortgage broker. It compares wholesale programs for you and does not lend the money itself.

What Is Different About a Line This Size?

A line of $700,000 or more is a different product from a standard equity line. Above $500,000, the network requires a primary residence, a full appraisal, and a stricter credit profile. Lenders also cap combined leverage at 75%. Terms depend on the lender’s guidelines, the property type, the leverage, and a full review of the credit profile.

CLTV is your existing mortgage plus the full credit line, divided by the home’s value. The lender tests the whole line, not just what you plan to draw. An undrawn line still uses up room under the cap.

The title of this page mentions $1 million, so here is the plain answer. The wholesale programs Lendmire brokers cap at $750,000. A borrower who needs more than that is looking at a different product, such as a cash-out refinance, and the section on investor decisions below covers that path. Credit unions and banks vary widely in what they will offer. One BiggerPockets thread shows how different the limits and rules can be from one lender to the next, and why shopping a single bank rarely tells you much.

Key Terms Defined

HELOC: A home equity line of credit is a revolving loan secured by your property. You draw against it as needed, up to a set limit.

CLTV (combined loan-to-value): All loans secured by the property, existing mortgage plus the new line, divided by the property’s value.

Draw period: The stretch when you can borrow from the line and typically owe only interest. After it ends, the balance amortizes over the repayment period.

Lien position: Whether the line sits behind your mortgage (second lien) or stands alone as the only loan on the property (first lien). The network places both.

Vesting: How title is held. For these lines it must be you personally or a revocable living trust.

DSCR loan: A debt service coverage ratio loan is an investor loan that qualifies primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines.

How Underwriting Works, Step by Step

A line this large is underwritten on you, not on a rental’s income. Here is the order lenders follow.

1. Choose the collateral. Above $500,000, the collateral must be your primary residence. For a rental, the ceiling is $500,000.

2. Size the line. Lenders take the home’s value, multiply by the CLTV cap, and subtract your existing liens. The CFPB’s HELOC booklet describes the same logic. The program’s dollar cap then limits the result. At the $700,000-plus tier, the cap is 75% CLTV.

3. Value the property. Lines at or below $500,000 ordinarily run on an automated valuation, though a higher CLTV may require a second valuation. Every line above $500,000 requires a full appraisal. You can also ask for a full appraisal on a smaller line.

4. Pull credit. The network uses a single-bureau score keyed to the primary wage earner, with a program floor of 600. The report can be no more than 90 days old at closing, and there are no rescores. The minimum credit profile for a line above $500,000 is 700 or better (720 on the longer-runway program, which is the second of the two wholesale programs described below).

5. Run debt-to-income. The maximum is 50%. For credit profiles from 600 to 679 the limit drops to 45%, and a ratio above 45% requires a score of at least 680. Lenders review your file on the interest-only payment at the maximum draw, so the test assumes a large balance.

6. Review title and property. Title must be fee simple or leasehold, held by you or your revocable living trust. Eligible properties include single-family homes, 2-4 units, PUDs, townhomes, and condominiums, including non-warrantable ones. Manufactured homes, co-ops, condotels, log homes, commercial and mixed-use properties, and agricultural zoning are not eligible.

7. Close and draw. At least 75% of the line is drawn at closing. After that, the minimum subsequent draw is $1,000 on the longer-runway program, with a higher figure in Texas.

Line Limits by Occupancy

Occupancy changes everything. This table shows the ceilings that apply to the property you are actually borrowing against. Every figure is subject to lender guidelines and a full file review.

Read the table by occupancy, not by the highest number. The 90% CLTV tier exists only on primary residences and second homes, only at 720 or better, and only up to $500,000. On an investment property, the ceiling is 70% CLTV with no tier above it.

Two Wholesale Programs, Two Sets of Rules

Two wholesale programs sit behind these lines, and where they differ, each figure applies only within its own program.

One is built for higher leverage. Under it, a borrower is limited to three lines, with combined exposure of up to $2,000,000.

The other is the longer-runway program. It has tighter tradeline rules: two tradelines seasoned 12 months, or one seasoned 24. It also applies housing-history standards across every financed property. Under it, the same three-line limit applies, but combined exposure caps at $750,000.

Draw structures come in two forms on primary residences and second homes. One is a 3-year interest-only draw followed by a 17-year repayment. The other is a 5-year draw followed by a 25-year repayment. Investment lines use the 5-year draw and 25-year repayment only.

Pricing floats through both the draw and repayment periods and never converts to fixed. Some lenders in the wider market offer a fixed-rate conversion on part of the balance, as the CFPB’s overview of home equity lines notes. The network programs do not.

Where the General Rule Breaks

An LLC-owned rental. LLCs, corporations, partnerships, and irrevocable, blind, or land trusts cannot hold title on these lines. This is the sharpest difference from a DSCR loan. One BiggerPockets poster who called around reported that no lender would lend on a property held in an LLC. A property already deeded to an LLC needs a vesting change or a DSCR cash-out instead.

A credit profile below 640. Sub-640 profiles are limited to single-family residences with a clean 12-month housing history under the longer-runway program. Second homes start at 640 and investment lines at 700, so this path reaches primary residences only. A line above $500,000 needs a 700 profile or better, so it never reaches the large tier.

Past credit events. A bankruptcy needs four years of seasoning from discharge or dismissal on both programs. For foreclosure-family history on a primary residence or second home, one program seasons a foreclosure at seven years. It seasons a deed-in-lieu, pre-foreclosure, or short sale at four. The other declines the history regardless of age. Investment files follow the seven-and-four-year path.

A large portfolio. You are limited to three lines. A borrower owning more than 15 financed properties is not eligible.

State overlays. A Texas primary residence is a homestead and caps at 80% CLTV, so the higher tiers never apply there. Texas second homes and investment properties follow the standard tables. New Mexico and Ohio set CLTV caps that depend on the credit profile. A property listed for sale, or listed within the past 60 days, is ineligible in Indiana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington.

Availability. Lendmire’s full-service states for these lines are AL, CA, CO, FL, GA, IN, MI, MT, NM, NC, OH, PA, TN, TX, VA, and WA. That is narrower than the 41-market DSCR footprint.

How a Broker Finds the Right Lender Fit

Banks, credit unions, and online lenders each set their own limits, membership rules, and appetite for investor files. Many retail lenders prefer owner-occupied collateral. Which lenders fit depends on your property type, your credit profile, how much leverage you need, and how you hold title.

A broker works from the other direction. Lendmire shops multiple wholesale lenders and matches the scenario to the program whose rules fit it. It does not rank or recommend any lender by name. What it can do is test your file against the parameters above before you spend money on an appraisal.

When you compare offers, line them up on the same five points:

• Line size and CLTV cap for your occupancy.
• Draw period and repayment length.
• How much must be drawn at closing.
• What drives the pricing during both periods.
• Which vesting and property rules apply to you.

Advertised maximums are not typical approvals. A lender that advertises a large line may approve far less once your credit, debt load, and home value are in the file.

The Investor Decision in Practice

A large line produces cash. It does not buy a property. An investor typically uses that cash as a down payment, as a no-contingency offer, or to pay off an expensive loan, and then a separate loan buys or refinances the rental. Two approvals have to line up.

Because the large tier sits on your primary home, you are putting your residence at risk to fund a rental. If the new property underperforms, the exposure is on the place you live. At least 75% of the line is drawn at closing, so a large balance starts accruing interest on day one. The payment can also jump when the draw period ends and the balance begins to amortize. Pricing floats, so test the payment at a higher level than today’s.

Lenders judge the line on your personal credit and debt load. A DSCR loan works differently. It qualifies primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines. The complete DSCR loans guide covers that approach in full. Many investors find a DSCR cash-out refinance fits better when the rental carries the equity.

Here is how that alternative compares:

On the DSCR side, 1.00 is where select programs start, and a separate select-lender path goes below 1.00 with leverage and terms adjusted. Cash-out leverage tops out around 75% LTV across most of the network, and about six months of seasoning is the common expectation. Loan sizes run up to $3,000,000 on standard programs (smaller balances available through select lenders). LLC titling on the DSCR side is subject to lender program eligibility. The exact numbers vary by lender and program and follow a full review of property, leverage, and credit.

If you are weighing a line against a fixed-payment loan, Lendmire’s piece HELOC vs Home Equity Loan With a $700,000 to $1 Million Credit Line covers that choice.

Prep Checklist Before You Apply

• Pull your credit and confirm it will be under 90 days old at closing.
• List every financed property you own, since the 15-property limit counts them all.
• Confirm how title is held and whether a revocable trust or vesting change is needed.
• Add up your monthly debts and compare them to the 45% and 50% DTI limits.
• Plan for a full appraisal on any line above $500,000.
• Decide whether your primary home or the rental is the better collateral, and what happens if the new property underperforms.

If you are considering a home equity line and want to see how the numbers work, Lendmire can help you compare HELOC options based on the property, the equity available, credit profile, combined leverage, and your goals. Reach the team at 828-256-2183 or request a quote through Lendmire’s quote page.

For current guidelines and terms, see Lendmire’s home equity page.

About Lendmire

As a mortgage broker (NMLS# 2371349), Lendmire helps homeowners and real estate investors in its 16 full-service states open home equity lines of credit arranged through wholesale lenders. Lendmire is never the lender; line amounts, ceilings and terms are set by the lender under its guidelines. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.

References

1. BiggerPockets thread

2. CFPB: HELOC booklet

3. CFPB’s overview of home equity lines

4. BiggerPockets – HELOC on investment property (LLC/limits)