The denial is the opportunity.
You already acquired the customer. A decline on a HELOC or a cash-out refinance sends them out of the branch and, often, out of the relationship.
- The trigger
- A member or borrower applies for a HELOC, home equity loan or cash-out refinance and is declined on credit score, debt-to-income, or self-employment income.
- What it costs you
- Acquisition cost already paid, revenue lost, and a relationship damaged at exactly the moment the customer needed you to have an answer.
- Typical amount the customer was seeking
- $50,000 - $150,000
This is not a Barastone problem. It is a financing problem you inherited.
~46%
HELOC application denial rate
Against roughly 12% for traditional mortgages.
Unverified — Strategy framework v1.1, Part 3.3 - primary citation to be attached before launch
748
Average FICO of a homeowner holding a HELOC
About 34 points above the average American’s score.
Unverified — Strategy framework v1.1, Part 3.3 - primary citation to be attached before launch
~15%
Of the US workforce is independent
Before counting retirees and non-traditional income.
Unverified — Strategy framework v1.1, Part 3.3 - primary citation to be attached before launch
Run your own numbers.
What your business is losing at the financing step today, using your figures.
Dead-deal ledger
Your numbers
- Customers you could not help
- 60
- Revenue not booked
- $1,920,000
- Already spent winning them
- $24,000
Every one of those was a customer who wanted to go ahead. They had the equity and could not reach it, so the project did not happen. The last figure is what you spent finding that out.
Not a product on your balance sheet
The agreement is written by Barastone and funded through Barastone’s institutional capital partner. It is not originated by your institution and it does not sit on your balance sheet. The Urban Institute records that agreements of this kind are not subject to the Truth in Lending Act or the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, because they are not considered credit under TILA — an independent statement of the point, rather than ours.
Urban Institute, February 2026
PhotographyInterior of a credit union branch, mid-conversation across a desk - two real people, natural light, no handshake cliche.
Your role ends at the introduction. Ours starts there.
Who carries what, line by line.
You
Your role begins and ends here.
- Introduce the homeowner
- Share Barastone-approved materials
- Use your tracked link or branded page
Barastone
Everything past the introduction.
- Application intake
- Property valuation
- Investment review and eligibility
- Consumer disclosures, state by state
- Closing and e-notary
- Funding
- Servicing for the full Investment Period
- Settlement at sale, refinance or term end
Nobody asks you to
The reason a trade business can do this at all.
- Fund any part of the agreement
- Carry balance-sheet exposure
- Take an application
- Collect, store or transmit homeowner financial data
- Make an eligibility or investment decision
- Negotiate terms with the homeowner
- Operate compliance or servicing infrastructure
Solar & home energy
Residential solar lost both of its financing pillars inside a single year. Installers are being told to find alternatives. Home equity is the alternative most of their customers already have.
Home improvement & renovation
Kitchen and bath remodelers, ADU builders, general contractors and home service franchises lose finished designs at the financing step. The equity is usually already there.
Real estate professionals
Agents and brokers sit across from equity-rich, cash-poor owners every week: the pre-sale renovation, the stay-or-sell conversation, the client who needs their equity working before the sign goes in the yard.
Financial, wealth & insurance advisors
For most clients, home equity is the largest asset in the household and the only one the plan cannot reach. An introduction puts it to work without a sale.