EquitySelect HELOC in California: How the Payment You Choose Decides What You Qualify For
You’ve got real equity. You’ve got a first mortgage at a rate that isn’t coming back, and you’re not giving it up. And you still need money. That’s the problem most California homeowners bring us, and EquitySelect is one answer to it.
Here’s the honest line up front: because you qualify on the payment plan you select, EquitySelect may support a substantially larger line than a bank HELOC — depending on credit, equity, income, property type, and lender guidelines. The trade for that is a balance that can grow and a balloon payment at the end. Both of those things are true at the same time. We’ll go through both.
No credit pull required to review general options.
The quick answer
EquitySelect is an adjustable-rate home equity line of credit (HELOC) on an owner-occupied California primary residence, available as a 1st lien or a 2nd lien, refinance only. What makes it different is qualification: instead of qualifying you on an interest-only or fully amortizing payment, this program qualifies you on a minimum monthly payment plan you select — a percentage of your balance, starting as low as 1% per year depending on your age. That’s why the line size can come out very different from a bank HELOC. The trade is equally real: the rate adjusts, your payment may not cover all the interest, your balance can grow, and a balloon payment will result.
Solve Lending & Realty is a California mortgage broker and licensed real estate brokerage. We work with homeowners statewide, and most closely in Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Diego County, and Riverside County. We arrange financing — we don’t lend.
How you qualify — this is the whole product
Everything else on this page is detail. This is the product.
A bank HELOC qualifies you on an interest-only or amortizing payment, calculated off the line amount. The bigger the line, the bigger the payment they have to fit inside your debt-to-income ratio. So if the payment is big, the line has to be small. Your income becomes the ceiling on your equity.
EquitySelect flips the order. You pick a payment plan first. The plan is a percentage — 1% through 5% per year — and your minimum monthly payment is:
your plan rate × your outstanding balance ÷ 12
That selected plan payment is what underwriting uses, against a debt-to-income ratio up to 50%. Not an interest-only payment. Not an amortizing payment. The one you picked.
Two things to hold onto before the numbers. First, a plan percentage is not an interest rate — it’s the formula for your minimum payment, nothing more. Second, the payment is figured on your outstanding balance, not on the size of your line. Draw half the line and the payment is figured on that half.
Because the qualifying payment is a fraction of what a bank would use, the same income can support a substantially larger line — depending on credit, equity, income, property type, and lender guidelines. That’s the sell. It’s also exactly why the next few sections matter more than this one.
Age decides which plans you can choose
The deepest payment reductions aren’t open to everyone:
- Age 60 and up — any plan, 1% through 5%
- Ages 55 to 59 — 3%, 4%, or 5%
- Age 54 and under — the 5% plan only
Lower plan, lower payment, bigger potential line — and faster balance growth. That’s the lever, and it cuts both directions. We’ll show you what each plan does to your number before you choose one.
These tiers apply to both the 1st-lien and 2nd-lien versions. Age isn’t a nice-to-have detail here — it’s the first thing we check.
One more thing worth knowing before you pick: the plan you select at application is the plan for the life of the loan. It can’t be changed after closing — which is exactly why we run every plan against your numbers before you choose.
Plan availability is also age-based: the 1% and 2% plans require the youngest borrower to be 60 or older, borrowers 55 to 59 can select the 3% plan or higher, and borrowers 54 and under are limited to the 5% plan.
What the payment actually looks like
Here’s the arithmetic. An $800,000 balance on a 1% plan: $800,000 × 1% = $8,000 a year, divided by 12 = $667 for the initial monthly payment.
Now the qualification story. This is the kind of side-by-side we run for people — a made-up borrower, so read the numbers as illustration, not as a quote.
Mary, age 74
- Home value: $950,000
- Existing mortgage balance: $250,000
- Monthly income: $4,500 — solid, but it’s retirement income, and it doesn’t grow
Her bank sized a HELOC off its own payment math and qualified her for $33,000, at $260 a month. On a home with that much equity, $33,000 wasn’t going to do what she needed.
Run the same homeowner through EquitySelect, qualifying on the plan payment she selected, and the line comes back at $200,000 — at a $267 initial minimum payment on a 2% plan, figured on the $160,000 opening draw the program requires.
Same house. Same income. Nearly the same monthly outlay. A different qualification basis. What that difference looks like for you depends on credit, equity, income, property type, and lender guidelines.
Now the other half, said plainly: $267 does not cover all the interest accruing on a $160,000 balance. It isn’t meant to. What it doesn’t cover gets added to what she owes, her balance grows, and a balloon payment will come due. That’s the deal she’d be making.
The minimum payments in these illustrations are initial figures, based on the plan selected and the balance actually drawn — not on the full line amount. Your own number would be figured on your own balance.
Mary is a fictional example used for illustration only. Qualifications, loan amounts, and payment results will vary by borrower. Not all applicants will qualify. EquitySelect is a home equity line of credit (HELOC) mortgage loan. Monthly payments may not cover all accrued interest, and unpaid interest is added to the balance, resulting in a balloon payment at the end of the term or upon payoff. There is a required minimum initial draw of $75,000 or 50% of the credit line for 1st-liens (80% for 2nd-liens), whichever is greater. The draw period lasts seven years for 1st liens (five years for 2nd liens) and no additional draws can be made after that. Interest Rate is based on Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) Index + Margin (APR). APR excludes loan fees, points and similar charges relating to opening, renewing, or continuing the account.
How this really works
Let’s be straight about how this works. You pick a payment plan — some start as low as 1% of your balance per year, depending on your age. That chosen payment is what you qualify on, and it’s why approvals here can look very different from a bank HELOC. The trade-off: your payment may not cover all the interest, so your balance can grow, and at the end of the term there will be a balloon payment. If you understand that going in and plan for it, this can be a useful tool. If nobody explained it to you, that’s a problem. We explain it — that’s the job.
Three things sit at the center of that, and we’ll name each one.
The rate adjusts. It’s tied to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate index plus a margin. It moves. Your payment is calculated off the plan percentage you selected, but the interest accruing behind that payment moves with the index. There is a lifetime rate cap written into the program. Treat it as a ceiling, not a cushion.
Your balance can grow, with no limit on how much. In any month where your payment doesn’t cover that month’s accruing interest, the shortfall is added to your balance. That’s negative amortization, and this program places no cap on it. Interest then accrues on the larger balance. And because the payment is a percentage of the balance, a growing balance means a growing payment. That’s how the math works. It’s the structure of the product, and you should price it in from day one.
A balloon payment will result. Not may. Will. Pay the minimum plan payment and a balloon payment results — there’s no principal-and-interest recast waiting at the end of the draw period to smooth it out for you. At the end of the term, or whenever you sell, refinance, or pay the loan off, whatever’s owed is owed.
And you still own a house. Property taxes, homeowners insurance, HOA dues, the roof, the water heater — all still yours, all still due. A low mortgage payment doesn’t make a home cheap to keep.
There’s one lever that changes this, and it’s real: you can pay more than the plan payment. In any month where your payment covers that month’s accruing interest, your balance stops growing. Pay more than that and it comes down. On a 1st lien there’s no prepayment penalty, so paying ahead is genuinely available to you. But it has to be a plan you actually follow, not a plan you intend.
And the honest risk sitting on top of all of it: if California home values soften while your balance climbs, your equity absorbs both directions at once.
Who this fits, and who it doesn’t
It may fit you if:
- You’ve got significant equity and a real need for a large sum, and a bank HELOC’s payment-based qualification isn’t getting you there.
- You’re 60 or older, the low plans are open to you, and you’re clear-eyed that the balance grows.
- You’re holding a first mortgage rate you’d rather not give up, and a second-lien structure lets you keep it.
- You intend to pay more than the minimum in normal months and want the low plan payment as a safety valve, not as your everyday payment.
- You have a defined exit: a sale on a known horizon, a downsize, a business liquidity date, a maturing asset, or a refinance you actually intend to run — and the balloon lands after it.
It probably isn’t for you if:
- You want a rate that doesn’t move and a payment that always shrinks your balance. That’s a different product — a fixed-rate HELOC or a fixed second mortgage is the one to compare.
- You’re buying a home. This is refinance only.
- It’s a rental, a second home, or a vacation property. Owner-occupied primary residences only.
- You need less than $75,000. The minimum initial draw makes small borrowing impossible here.
- You’d be using the low payment to stay afloat rather than to execute a plan. A growing balance on a tight budget is how people lose ground.
- You’re planning to sell soon. Homes listed for sale within the past 12 months generally aren’t eligible for either lien. Case-by-case exceptions exist where the listing was cancelled before you applied, but plan around the rule, not the exception.
- You want your heirs to inherit a balance that shrank rather than grew. Say so out loud — it changes the recommendation.
- You don’t have a clear answer to “what happens at the balloon?” If we ask you that and there’s silence, we’re going to say so.
That second list isn’t there for legal cover. The homeowners who get hurt by a structure like this are usually the ones nobody walked through it with. And the honest version: for a lot of people, the right answer is a plain fixed second mortgage or a conventional HELOC, and we’ll tell you that. This is a specific tool for a specific situation.
1st lien vs. 2nd lien: the specifics that matter
EquitySelect as a 1st lien
It replaces your existing mortgage — which is why, if you’re sitting on a first you refinanced when money was cheap, this usually isn’t the side of the program for you.
- Line up to $4,000,000, up to 74.99% of value, on a 40-year term
- 7-year draw period. After it ends, no additional draws — for the remaining life of the loan.
- Minimum initial draw: the greater of $75,000 or 50% of the credit line. The initial draw is also capped at 90% of the line.
- No prepayment penalty, which is what makes paying above the plan payment a usable strategy
- No monthly servicing fee, and the processing fee is capped at $1,300
- One step to plan for: 1st-lien borrowers have to view the program education video and sign a certification at least three days before closing. It’s a required part of the file, not a formality.
- On high-value properties, expect extra valuation work — additional valuation tools above $2 million, and two full appraisals above $2.5 million. Budget the time.
A meaningful share of the line comes out on day one and starts accruing interest that day — not whenever you get around to using it. Plan for where that money goes before you sign.
EquitySelect as a 2nd lien
It sits behind your existing first mortgage and leaves it alone — your rate, your term, your payment on that loan, untouched.
- Line up to $1,000,000, but limited to the amount that would be available to you on an EquitySelect 1st lien. Whatever the 1st-lien math supports is the ceiling on the 2nd, even if that lands well under a million.
- 40-year term, with a 5-year draw period. After it ends, no additional draws.
- Minimum initial draw: the greater of $75,000 or 80% of the maximum line. That 80% is the one people miss — on a 2nd, you’re taking most of it at closing whether you need it that day or not. Between the 80% floor and the 90% ceiling on that first draw, there isn’t much line left to draw later. And after five years, none at all.
- Qualified at up to 50% debt-to-income using the EquitySelect 2nd minimum plan payment
- Your existing first has to be an eligible first: a fully amortizing fixed loan, a fully amortizing ARM qualified at its maximum note rate, or a HELOC already in its repayment period — and not in forbearance. If your first is interest-only or has a balloon, say so early. That changes the path.
- Seasoning applies: generally 12 months if you took cash out on that first, six months on a rate-and-term.
- It will not subordinate behind a new cash-out first mortgage. It can subordinate for a rate-and-term refinance into a fixed first where there’s a real net tangible benefit — but cash-out is out. So if a cash-out refinance of your first is anywhere in your plan, tell us now. It’s a sequencing decision, and doing it in the wrong order boxes you in.
- Generally not available if the home’s been listed for sale in the past 12 months — that rule is program-wide, not specific to the 2nd lien
Both liens
Owner-occupied California primary residence — single family, warrantable condo, PUD, or 2–4 units with one unit owner-occupied. No maximum property value. Refinance only. Generally a 650 minimum credit score, 670 if you’ve had a 30-day mortgage late in the last 12 months. U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Revocable trusts only. Processing fee capped at $1,300. If you’re 62 or older, some liquid assets may count toward qualifying income — the rules differ between the two liens, so we’d check yours. Everything subject to qualification, appraisal, and current program guidelines.
As with HELOCs generally, the lender can suspend or reduce further draws in defined situations — for example a significant decline in the home’s value or missed payments. Worth knowing if you were counting on the undrawn part of the line being there later.
Two situations we see
The Robinsons, 63 and 61 — $26,000 in credit cards and a first mortgage worth keeping
Their home is worth $1,300,000. They owe $180,000 on the first mortgage. And they’re carrying $26,000 in credit card balances that are eating their month alive.
Two structures could look like this:
EquitySelect as a 1st lien: a $320,000 line, $343 initial minimum monthly payment on a 2% plan, figured on the $206,000 it takes to clear both debts. That pays off the existing mortgage, clears the cards, and leaves room.
EquitySelect as a 2nd lien: a $140,000 line, $187 initial minimum monthly payment on a 2% plan, figured on the $112,000 minimum opening draw. Their existing first mortgage stays exactly where it is.
Both clear the cards. Neither is free — and here’s the part we’d say before they signed anything.
The minimum initial draw applies either way: at least 50% of the line on the 1st, at least 80% on the 2nd. On the second-lien version especially, that means borrowing — and paying interest on — far more than the $26,000 in cards from day one. That has to be money they have a real use for, or this is the wrong tool.
Beyond that, the minimum payment may not cover the interest accruing, the balance can grow, and a balloon payment will result. The 1st puts more capital in their hands, but it replaces the mortgage they already have; depending on what they’re paying on that first today, it may or may not be the smaller total monthly outlay. That’s a number we’d run, not a claim we’d make.
And the thing we’d say to their faces: consolidating cards into your house converts unsecured debt into debt secured by the place you live. If the cards come back, you’ve made things worse, not better. That conversation matters more than the rate.
Mary — the retiree with equity and no cash flow
We covered her above: a $200,000 line at a $267 initial minimum payment on the required $160,000 opening draw, where her bank’s HELOC math supported $33,000.
For a retiree with a paid-down California house and income that doesn’t grow, sizing the line off a chosen plan payment can reach numbers that income-driven underwriting doesn’t reach. It also means $200,000 of debt on a home she may want to leave to her kids, growing quietly in the background, with a balloon at the end. Both of those things are true at once, and both belong in the conversation with her family in the room.
One more thing she needs to know: the minimum moves. It’s a percentage of the balance, so as the balance grows, the minimum grows with it. If she pays more than the plan payment in the months she can, the growth slows or stops — in any month where her payment covers the interest that accrued, the balance holds. There’s no prepayment penalty on a 1st lien. That’s the lever she keeps.
For Mary, the right question isn’t “can I get approved.” It’s “what does this look like in year twelve.” We’d map the balance growth, talk about what she wants her kids to inherit, and put it side by side with a reverse mortgage and with a straightforward second. Sometimes EquitySelect wins that comparison. Sometimes it doesn’t. We’d rather she see all three.
The Robinsons and Mary are fictional examples used for illustration only. Qualifications, loan amounts, and payment results will vary by borrower. Not all applicants will qualify. EquitySelect is a home equity line of credit (HELOC) mortgage loan. Monthly payments may not cover all accrued interest, and unpaid interest is added to the balance, resulting in a balloon payment at the end of the term or upon payoff. There is a required minimum initial draw of $75,000 or 50% of the credit line for 1st-liens (80% for 2nd-liens), whichever is greater. The draw period lasts seven years for 1st liens (five years for 2nd liens) and no additional draws can be made after that. Interest Rate is based on Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) Index + Margin (APR). APR excludes loan fees, points and similar charges relating to opening, renewing, or continuing the account.
Traditional bank HELOC vs. EquitySelect
| Traditional bank HELOC | EquitySelect | |
|---|---|---|
| What you qualify on | An interest-only or fully amortizing payment calculated on the line amount | The minimum plan payment you select (1%–5% annually, by age tier), at up to 50% DTI |
| How the payment is calculated | By the lender’s payment structure and your rate | Your plan rate × outstanding balance ÷ 12 |
| Effect on line size | The payment drives the line down | The selected payment may support a substantially larger line — depending on credit, equity, income, property type, and lender guidelines |
| Rate | Varies by lender; commonly adjustable | Adjustable — SOFR index plus a margin |
| What happens to your balance | Typically declines with an amortizing payment, or holds flat with interest-only | Unpaid interest is added to the balance, with no program limit. It stops growing only in a month when your payment covers that month’s accruing interest. |
| End of term | Draw period, then a repayment period that amortizes the balance | 40-year term. Paying the plan payment will result in a balloon payment. No principal-and-interest recast. |
| Draws | Varies by lender; many replenish during the draw period | 7-year draw (1st lien) / 5-year draw (2nd lien). No additional draws after that. |
| Minimum initial draw | Often small or none | Greater of $75,000 or 50% of the line (1st) / 80% of the line (2nd), capped at 90% |
| Occupancy and purpose | Varies by lender | Owner-occupied primary residence, refinance only |
Bank HELOC terms vary a lot by lender — compare your actual offer, not a generic column. Both are mortgages secured by your home, and with either one, missing the obligation puts the house at risk. The difference is qualification, and what happens to the balance over time.
Why this comes up so often in California
You’re in an unusual spot, and so is almost everyone we sit down with. You bought or refinanced when money was cheap, and you’re holding a first mortgage at a rate that isn’t coming back. Meanwhile the house did what California houses do, and there’s six or seven figures of equity sitting in it.
So the cash-out refinance — the traditional answer — has become the expensive answer. Re-pricing an entire low-rate balance to reach a slice of equity is a bad trade for most people. That’s why second liens have taken over the equity conversation in this state. And then homeowners find out the bank’s HELOC payment math limits them to a fraction of what they need. That gap between paper wealth and cash you can actually reach is a wide one here, where values ran up faster than incomes.
Here’s the specifically-California part: our home values regularly outrun what conventional HELOC programs will lend against. A coastal home in Manhattan Beach or a well-held house in Irvine can carry more equity than a standard line will reach. EquitySelect goes up to $4,000,000 on a 1st lien with no maximum property value, which is why it comes up as often as it does in the conversations we have on this side of the state.
It also means the stakes are bigger here. Line size and risk scale together — a balance that can grow without limit is a very different thing on a seven-figure line than on a small one. Anyone who sells you the first half of that sentence without the second half isn’t doing the job.
We work with homeowners across California, and most closely across:
- Los Angeles County — high values, deep equity, and a lot of long-held low-rate firsts
- Orange County — where a lot of homes sit above the FHA and HECM lending limits, which is what pushes people toward proprietary programs in the first place
- San Diego County — condo-heavy, and warrantable condos are eligible here
- Riverside County — where equity has run up hard since 2020 and, for a lot of the households we talk to, income hasn’t moved the same way
Before you look at EquitySelect, we’ll put it next to the alternatives: a fixed second mortgage, a fixed-rate or conventional HELOC, a home equity investment, a reverse mortgage or reverse second if you’re 55 or older, a cash-out refinance — and yes, selling. We’re a licensed real estate brokerage too, so the sale math can sit on the table right next to the loan math. Compare your options before refinancing.
Questions homeowners actually ask
Is EquitySelect a fixed-rate HELOC?
No. The rate is adjustable, tied to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate index plus a margin. Your plan percentage is your selection; the interest rate behind it moves. If you want a rate that doesn’t move and a payment that always reduces your balance, tell us — we’ll put a different product in front of you.
Will my minimum payment stay the same?
No. Your payment is a percentage of your outstanding balance, so as the balance grows, the payment grows with it. And the rate is adjustable, which changes how fast the balance grows. Anyone who tells you the payment is locked in is describing a different product than this one.
What happens at the end?
The draw period closes at seven years on a 1st lien, five on a 2nd, and you can’t draw again after that. The loan runs 40 years total. Paying the plan payment will result in a balloon payment — the remaining balance comes due at maturity, or sooner if you sell or pay the loan off. There’s no automatic conversion to a principal-and-interest payment that quietly amortizes it for you. Most people handle it by selling, refinancing, or paying down along the way. You need one of those plans before you sign, not after.
Can I pay more than the plan payment?
Yes — and for most people it’s the difference between this working and this going sideways. In any month where your payment covers that month’s accruing interest, your balance stops growing. Pay more than that and it comes down. On a 1st lien there’s no prepayment penalty. The plan payment is the floor, not the target.
Can I change my payment plan later?
No. You choose your plan at application and it stays for the life of the loan — it can’t be changed after closing. That is the single most important decision you make on this loan, and it’s why we run every plan you’re eligible for against your actual numbers before you pick one. What you can always do is pay more than the minimum: on a 1st lien there’s no prepayment penalty, and in any month where your payment covers that month’s accruing interest, your balance stops growing. The plan sets your floor. It doesn’t set your ceiling.
Do I qualify?
You may. Qualification runs on your selected plan payment at up to 50% debt-to-income, and it also depends on credit, equity, income, occupancy, property type, age, and current lender guidelines. Broadly: an owner-occupied California primary residence, a refinance and not a purchase, and generally a 650 minimum credit score — 670 if you’ve had a 30-day mortgage late in the last 12 months. Not all applicants qualify, and we’ll tell you early if you don’t. We can review general options without a credit pull.
Why does my age matter here?
Because plan availability is tiered by age, on both the 1st and the 2nd lien: 54 and under means the 5% plan only, ages 55 to 59 get the 3% to 5% range, and at 60 and up all plans from 1% to 5% are available. Younger borrowers can use the program — they just can’t use the deepest payment reductions. The 1% plan a lot of advertising leads with isn’t available under 60, so if you’ve seen that number quoted, check your tier before you plan around it.
Do I have to take the whole line at closing?
Not the whole line, but more than most people expect. There’s a required minimum initial draw: on a 1st lien, the greater of $75,000 or 50% of your credit line; on a 2nd lien, the greater of $75,000 or 80% of the maximum line. The initial draw is capped at 90%. You’ll be paying interest on that balance from day one, whether you had an immediate use for all of it or not. If you only need a small amount, this isn’t your product.
Can I keep my current low-rate first mortgage?
Yes — that’s the 2nd-lien version, and it’s why a lot of people are here. Your existing first stays in place, as long as it’s an eligible first: fully amortizing fixed, a fully amortizing ARM qualified at its maximum note rate, or a HELOC already in its repayment period, and not in forbearance. Two catches. The 2nd-lien line is limited by what would be available to you on an EquitySelect 1st lien. And the program will not subordinate behind a new cash-out first mortgage — a rate-and-term refinance into a fixed first with real net tangible benefit is a different case. If refinancing your first is on your horizon, we need to talk about order of operations now, not later.
How is this different from a reverse mortgage?
A reverse mortgage has no required monthly mortgage payment — though property taxes, homeowners insurance, and upkeep are still yours, and falling behind on those can put the loan in default. It also has age minimums, generally 55 or 62 depending on the program. EquitySelect does require a payment every month: a flexible one, but a real obligation. There’s no age-62 requirement, and it keeps conventional loan mechanics. Both can leave you with a larger balance over time. If you’re 60 or older, price both — we’ll run them side by side, and sometimes the reverse is genuinely the better structure.
Before you sign anything, talk to someone who’ll say the hard part out loud
EquitySelect solves a specific problem: your equity is large, your income is the constraint, and your first mortgage rate is worth protecting. When those three things are true, this is one of the few structures that sizes your line off a payment you choose instead of a payment a lender calculates for you.
It also carries an adjustable rate, a balance that can grow without limit, and a balloon payment that will result. Those aren’t footnotes. They’re the price of the qualification.
We’ll walk through your numbers, put this next to every other path — fixed second, conventional or fixed-rate HELOC, home equity investment, reverse mortgage, cash-out refinance, or selling — and tell you plainly if EquitySelect isn’t the one. If it’s not the right fit, we’ll say so, and we’ll tell you what is.
No obligation. No credit pull required to review general options. Serving homeowners across California, including Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, and Riverside counties.
Solve Lending & Realty is a mortgage broker — we arrange financing; we don’t lend. NMLS #2013271 | DRE #02123993. Equal Housing Opportunity.
EquitySelect is a home equity line of credit (HELOC) mortgage loan with an adjustable rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) Index + Margin (APR). APR excludes loan fees, points and similar charges relating to opening, renewing, or continuing the account. Monthly payments may not cover all accrued interest; unpaid interest is added to the balance, resulting in a balloon payment at the end of the term or upon payoff. A required minimum initial draw applies. Draw periods are limited and no additional draws can be made after the draw period ends. All examples on this page are fictional and for illustration only; every figure is an illustration, not an offer. Qualifications, loan amounts, and payment results will vary by borrower. Not all applicants will qualify. All terms are subject to qualification, appraisal, property eligibility, and current lender guidelines. Program availability and terms may change. This is not a commitment to lend. A HELOC is secured by your home; you remain responsible for property taxes, homeowners insurance, HOA dues, and maintenance, and failure to meet the obligations of the loan can put your home at risk.