Home equity in San Francisco
Victorian and Edwardian houses, Sunset District row houses and high-rise condominiums, plus tenancy-in-common ownership, which isn’t an eligible property type.
Yes — you can get a home equity line of credit on a home in San Francisco. The requirements are the same here as everywhere else in California: a credit score from 640, debt-to-income up to 50%, and an eligible property type. What differs in San Francisco is the property — victorian and Edwardian houses, Sunset District row houses and high-rise condominiums, plus tenancy-in-common ownership, which isn’t an eligible property type.
These are the requirements for the home equity line we place. Other lenders set their own guidelines, and some are more flexible.
The one thing to check on a San Francisco home
Your deed. A condominium qualifies. A tenancy-in-common share does not — a TIC gives you an interest in a building rather than a deeded unit, and it isn’t an eligible property type.
Two-to-four unit buildings are eligible, so a flat you own outright as a deeded unit is fine. If you rent the building out rather than live in it, it counts as an investment property, which needs a 680 credit score.
What decides how much you can borrow
Start with what your home is worth today and subtract what you still owe against it. That difference is the equity you can borrow against. From there your credit score and your monthly debts decide how much of it you are offered, and the offer itself shows the amount, the rate and the payment.
Checking starts with a soft credit inquiry, so you can see where you stand before anything touches your credit report.
A loan officer who started in San Francisco
Matt Casillas (NMLS #339780) is a loan officer with C2 Financial Corporation. Before that, he spent twelve years at Bank of America Home Loans in San Francisco, from 2001 to 2013, as a Vice President. Today he serves homeowners in San Francisco and across the Bay Area. More about Matt.
Downtown condominium buildings
A large share of San Francisco’s condominium stock sits in the towers around SoMa, Rincon Hill, Mission Bay, Yerba Buena and the Transbay district. A deeded condominium in one of those buildings is an eligible property type, and the building being tall, new or amenity-heavy changes nothing by itself.
What does change your number is what the building charges you every month:
- Monthly HOA dues. Downtown dues are among the highest in the city, and they count as part of your housing costs when debt-to-income is calculated. Higher dues mean a lower amount available, so have the current figure ready.
- Special assessments. Some buildings levy an assessment for façade, garage, elevator or seismic work. If yours has one running, it counts the same way as dues. Your statement or HOA minutes will show it.
- How the unit is held. A deeded condominium qualifies. A tenancy-in-common share does not, no matter how the building looks from the street.
What your building’s problems don’t decide
Downtown owners are often turned down elsewhere because of the building rather than the home: litigation against the association, too many units rented out, thin reserves. Those are project-level tests a conventional condo lender applies. They are not part of this decision, and no condo questionnaire is required.
What still matters is your unit and your file: how the home is recorded, what is on title, your credit and your income. An assessment lien recorded against your specific unit is still a lien, and there is a limit of 2 on the property.
One classification to check. Eligibility follows how the unit is recorded. A recorded condominium qualifies. A unit recorded as mixed-use does not — worth confirming on a live-work loft, where the building’s use and the unit’s recorded type are not always the same thing.
Flats and small buildings
Outside downtown, much of the city’s housing is two-to-four unit buildings and converted flats. Those are an eligible property type. What matters is whether you hold a deed to a unit or a share in the building, and whether you live there — a building you rent out rather than occupy is an investment property, which carries a higher credit minimum.
- Property types
- Condominiums, two-to-four unit buildings and row houses; TIC shares aren’t eligible
- Common projects
- Seismic retrofit, kitchens, in-law units
Neighborhoods and home styles in San Francisco
Sunset & Richmond Districts
1920s–50s row housesAttached single-family homes on narrow lots, many with ground-floor rooms or in-law units added over the decades. Work that was never permitted may not be reflected in the valuation.
Noe Valley, Bernal Heights & Glen Park
Victorian and Edwardian cottages, hillside lotsOlder single-family homes on steep, narrow lots, where foundation work and seismic upgrades are common projects.
Victorian and Edwardian flats
Two-to-four unit buildingsMany older buildings hold more than one unit. Buildings with two to four units are an eligible property type. If you don’t live in the building it counts as an investment property, which has a higher credit bar.
SoMa, Mission Bay & Rincon Hill
High-rise and mid-rise condominiumsCondominiums are an eligible property type, with association dues typically counted in debt-to-income.
The work that comes up most in San Francisco
Seismic work leads: foundation bolting, cripple-wall bracing and structural upgrades on older wood-frame houses. Kitchens and bathrooms in century-old homes follow, along with permitting or finishing ground-floor rooms and in-law units.
Cost ranges and funding for this work: Kitchen remodels · Bathroom remodels
Check your San Francisco equity
Tell us the property and what you need. Matt reviews every inquiry himself.
The same requirements in every city
Where your home is located doesn’t change the requirements. Every application is reviewed on the same criteria: a credit score of 640 or higher for most applications, debt-to-income up to 50%, an eligible property type, no more than 2 existing liens, and verified identity and income. See what affects approval.
Getting quotes?
Licensed contractors serving San Francisco across kitchen and bath, ADUs, roofing, heating and air, solar and pools — see the San Francisco list, each with a CSLB license you can check.
Home equity in San Francisco: questions
A tenancy-in-common interest isn’t an eligible property type. If your building has been converted to condominiums, your unit can qualify like any other condo, if the application meets the other requirements.
Yes, if it is a deeded condominium and the application meets the other requirements. High-rise buildings in SoMa, Rincon Hill, Mission Bay and the Transbay district are eligible property types. Your monthly dues, and any special assessment the building is running, count toward the 50% debt-to-income limit.
Not here. Building-level tests that conventional condo lenders apply — association litigation, the share of units rented out, reserve levels — are not part of this decision, and no condo questionnaire is required. Your unit, your title and your numbers decide it.
It depends on how the unit is recorded. A recorded condominium qualifies. A unit recorded as mixed-use isn’t eligible, so check the classification before you apply.
Yes. Dues count as part of your monthly housing costs alongside property taxes and insurance, so a building with high dues or a live special assessment leaves less room under the 50% debt-to-income limit.
Many owners do. How much you can borrow depends on your equity, credit score, existing liens and debt-to-income ratio. If a desktop appraisal is used, a below-average condition rating isn’t eligible.
These are the requirements for the home equity line we place. Other lenders set their own guidelines, and some are more flexible.
Serving San Francisco and all of the Bay Area
Keep your first mortgage. Access the equity separately.