Writer, the enterprise AI agent platform backed by Salesforce Ventures, Adobe Ventures, and Insight Partners, today launched event-based triggers for its Writer Agent platform, enabling AI agents to autonomously detect business signals across Gmail, Gong, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Microsoft SharePoint, and Slack — and execute complex multi-step workflows without any human initiating the process.The release, which also includes a new Adobe Experience Manager connector and a suite of enhanced governance controls such as bring-your-own encryption keys and a Datadog observability plugin, represents Writer’s most aggressive bet yet on fully autonomous enterprise AI. It arrives at a moment when AWS, Salesforce, and Microsoft are all racing to establish their own agentic platforms, and when the question of how much autonomy enterprises will actually hand to AI agents remains deeply unresolved.”We are launching a series of event triggers that power and drive our playbooks to be more proactively called,” Doris Jwo, Writer’s VP of Product Management, told VentureBeat ahead of the announcement. “We’re building on the ecosystem to actually for these connectors, such as SharePoint, Google Drive, Gong, Gmail, Google Calendar, actually listen for events happening in those platforms, so that the agent can practically know that something happened externally, and then, where relevant, call a certain playbook to be actually run live in real time, without any sort of human intervention required.”The shift from reactive to proactive AI agents marks a critical inflection point for enterprise software. Until now, most AI assistants — including Writer’s own platform — required a human to initiate every interaction. A marketer had to open a chat window and ask for help. A salesperson had to prompt a research brief. The new event-based triggers flip that dynamic entirely: the system watches for business events and acts on its own.Why Writer decided humans were the weakest link in enterprise AI workflowsWriter’s push toward autonomous triggers stems from a practical observation its product team made as enterprise customers scaled their use of the platform’s playbooks — the reusable, natural-language workflows that Writer introduced in November 2025 to let business users automate recurring tasks without writing code.”What we found is, as playbooks continue to get integrated into enterprise workflows, it’s actually humans that become the bottleneck in making sure that playbooks get triggered,” Jwo said. “This really kind of solves that problem, to make sure that that sort of always-on, proactive, autonomous nature of that agent has continued to be built on.”The mechanics work like this: Writer’s connectors, which already provided read and write access to third-party enterprise tools, now also listen for specific events — an email arriving in Gmail, a sales call completing in Gong, a new file landing in a Google Drive folder, a meeting starting or ending on Google Calendar, a message posted in Slack. When the system detects a qualifying event, it triggers a predefined playbook that executes a multi-step workflow autonomously.Consider the use case Jwo described for marketing teams already running on Writer’s platform. An email campaign workflow typically begins when a creative brief lands in a Google Drive folder. From there, multiple team members coordinate through Slack to assemble research, build assets, draft copy, review graphics, and package everything for a campaign management tool. Writer’s event-based triggers collapse much of that chain: the moment a brief hits the designated folder, the system automatically fires a cascade of playbooks that assemble the research, generate the assets, and prepare deliverables for human review.”All the playbooks that our customers have been building with us to build all those each individual pieces now just get automatically triggered the minute that initial brief kind of hits the Google Drive folder,” Jwo said. “That’s, I think, a very common workflow for most of these marketing sort of, like, content-heavy use cases, where it’s multiple parties involved, it’s a lot of assets coming together in a cascade.”How Writer’s AI reasoning engine separates it from simple automation tools like ZapierThe comparison to Zapier — the popular automation tool that connects thousands of apps through if-this-then-that logic — is inevitable, and Jwo addressed it directly.”It’s more than just an LLM in the middle,” she said. “It is an agent with reasoning and then access to a really powerful set of tools that includes connectors, that includes its own virtual sandbox, which enables it to do things like write and execute code on the fly and create those assets.”The distinction matters for understanding where Writer sits in an increasingly crowded landscape. Zapier and similar workflow automation tools require users to manually define rigid logic paths, specifying exact conditions and actions in a deterministic sequence. Writer’s approach uses its Palmyra-powered reasoning engine to process event context and make real-time execution decisions. Users describe their goals in natural language rather than dragging around boxes and defining conditional branches.”It’s not quite Zapier, because I think it requires a lot more — it’s more rigid,” Jwo said of traditional automation tools. “It requires more manual kind of setup to define the logic and the roles and the conditions for which a workflow has to be run.” Writer’s playbooks, by contrast, allow “a simple idea to turn into something that’s actually executable and repeatable,” she added, noting that builds take “hours and days, not weeks and months.”This natural-language accessibility has been central to Writer’s strategy since it introduced the Agent platform and playbooks last November. The company has consistently positioned itself as a platform that puts power in the hands of business users — marketers, sales teams, operations leads — rather than requiring engineering resources to build and maintain AI workflows. Writer CEO May Habib made this case forcefully at Davos earlier this year, arguing that the leaders pulling ahead are those entering what she called “rebuild mode” — stripping workflows down to outcomes and eliminating what she described as the “coordination tax” of endless handoffs, status meetings, and alignment emails.The event-based triggers extend that philosophy to its logical conclusion. If business users can build playbooks in natural language, and those playbooks can now fire automatically based on real-world business events, then the entire loop from signal to action can operate with minimal human involvement.Inside the governance controls Writer built to make autonomous AI agents safe for regulated enterprisesThat level of autonomy raises obvious concerns, and Writer appears to understand that governance is the linchpin of the entire strategy. The company paired its trigger launch with a substantial expansion of its administrative controls — a combination that suggests Writer views enterprise trust as its primary competitive weapon.The new governance features include Connector Profiles, which allow administrators to configure multiple versions of the same connector with different permissions per team; Writer Agent Profiles for deploying customized agent configurations with specific capability toggles and security settings; AI Studio Observability for auditable tracking of every agent interaction; a Datadog Logs Plugin that forwards every LLM request and response as structured log events; and bring-your-own encryption key support through AWS, Azure, or GCP key management services.”A really important part of that, and a baseline, sort of foundation for everything that we roll out, is our observability and governance platform,” Jwo told VentureBeat. “When connectors are set up, admins have full control over connector access, what is set up, who has access, which teams exactly are those access granted to, as well as individually, which exact tools do teams are able to call.”The observability story extends to the individual user level as well. Jwo described Writer Agent’s user experience as built around progressive disclosure — clean initial views that users can expand to inspect the full chain of reasoning behind any agent action. “You can drill down to the actual tool call level,” she said. “You’d actually have the ability to look at specifically what web search results were pulled, what connector was called, what tool called, what succeeded, what failed, how did the agent divert its path to fulfill your goal.”This transparency architecture reflects a broader conviction Writer has articulated through what it calls “The Agentic Compact” — a framework the company published for responsible AI that emphasizes foundational transparency, auditability, and human oversight. Dan Bikel, Writer’s head of AI, has argued publicly that the industry’s obsession with model scale has created what he calls a “transparency paradox,” leaving businesses with powerful tools they cannot fully understand or control. Writer’s governance-first approach to autonomous triggers represents the operational expression of that philosophy.Writer also introduced its agent supervision suite in December 2025, offering centralized monitoring, agent approval workflows, global guardrails, and integrations with external observability and security platforms like Datadog, Noma, and Lakera. The event-based triggers now extend that governance framework to cover actions initiated without any human in the loop — a meaningfully harder problem.Writer takes aim at AWS, Salesforce, and Microsoft in the escalating agentic platform warsThe timing of Writer’s announcement is not accidental. The enterprise agentic AI market has entered a period of intense platform competition, with the largest technology companies in the world staking claims to the same territory Writer occupies.Jwo acknowledged the pressure directly when asked why a CIO would choose Writer over established vendor relationships with AWS, Salesforce, or Microsoft — all of which have announced agentic platforms of their own.”At the baseline, I think we have all the pieces to be fully enterprise-grade and ready,” Jwo said. But she argued that Writer’s real advantage lies in accessibility for non-technical users. “A lot of the challenge has been: how do we get business users to actually be able to build these powerful workflows in a way that maybe a technical user, using coding agents, can do very quickly and well, but the typical business user is not accustomed to anything beyond typical prompting to actually create?”That positioning — enterprise-grade capabilities wrapped in a business-user-friendly interface — has been Writer’s core differentiation since the company’s founding in 2020. It is also the reason Writer has attracted strategic investment from Salesforce Ventures and Adobe Ventures, both of which are building their own AI platforms but apparently see value in Writer’s approach to the business-user segment.The company’s March 2026 release of Skills — reusable building blocks that encode a team’s specific methodologies, quality standards, and decision frameworks into the Agent platform — reinforced this direction. Skills allow marketing teams, for instance, to capture exactly how their best strategist structures competitive analysis or formats campaign briefs, then make that expertise available to every team member and every playbook across the organization. Combined with event-based triggers, the result is a system where institutional knowledge executes automatically in response to real-world business events.Writer’s 2026 AI adoption survey, conducted with Workplace Intelligence and covering 2,400 global executives, found that 79% of enterprises face AI adoption challenges despite high investment — and that organizations with strong change management programs are six times more likely to reach production. Writer CMO Diego Lomanto has argued that the real barrier to AI adoption is not technology but trust, writing that “they treat resistance as a training problem when it’s actually a trust problem.” The governance-heavy approach to event-based triggers appears designed to address exactly that dynamic.Salesforce, SAP, and Workday triggers are next as Writer expands its connector roadmapWriter’s initial event trigger support covers Gmail, Gong, Google Calendar, Google Drive, SharePoint, and Slack — tools that Jwo described as “generally the most applicable to every end user.” But the company has its eye on deeper enterprise system integration.When asked about CRM and ERP triggers for systems like Salesforce, SAP, and Workday, Jwo confirmed these are within the scope of the roadmap. “You can imagine, you know, a Salesforce opportunity is created that may trigger a cascade of events that happens,” she said. “You might want to set up the right assets, maybe the right customer environment, all sorts of things can kind of cascade from that.”The connector ecosystem has been a strategic priority since Writer launched its MCP (Model Context Protocol) gateway in November 2025, providing governed agent access across enterprise systems including Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, HubSpot, Gong, PitchBook, FactSet, and others. The addition of Adobe Experience Manager in this release gives marketing teams direct read/write access to pages, fragments, and digital assets in Adobe’s content management system — a connector that closes the gap between AI-generated content and published output.Jwo clarified that in most integration scenarios, Writer Agent delivers content in a draft state rather than publishing it directly. “Writer Agent basically accomplishes the majority of the workload — pulling together the assets, making the changes and presenting — and then hopefully a person just has to go through the last three or so final steps to get it out,” she said.The real question enterprise AI must answer: how much autonomy is too much autonomyThe degree of autonomy enterprises are comfortable granting their AI agents remains one of the most consequential open questions in the industry. Jwo acknowledged that most customers still maintain human checkpoints in their workflows.”You can also build in instructions into our playbooks to say, ‘Hey, before you move on to a next playbook, make sure that you check with me. I want to take a look, and then if I hit go, then you’re good to go,'” she said. The agent can also be designed with self-QA capabilities, validating outputs against known pitfalls before proceeding.Writer plans to expand these checkpoint capabilities in the coming quarter, adding the ability to specify not just that a checkpoint is required but which specific person must respond and what types of responses are expected — essentially building a formal approval workflow into the autonomous trigger chain.Jwo characterized the current system as a hybrid: the platform listens deterministically for predefined events, but the agent applies reasoning to decide what action to take — or whether to act at all. “The agent has the ability to process what happened, understand the context of it, and understand the intent of what you want to do, so it can make that decision,” she said. “You’re just saying, like, ‘Hey, the goal might be feedback is coming in, and we want to triage that in real time. And some things we might not want to action on, some things we do.’ You basically just explain that to the agent.”She views this release as a stepping stone toward a future where agents are “even more mission-driven, and less governed by even like a set of instructions or roles” — a future where the AI doesn’t just respond to triggers but proactively identifies when action is needed based on broader organizational goals.For now, Writer is betting that the combination of autonomous triggers, robust governance, and business-user accessibility will be enough to carve out defensible territory in an enterprise AI market where the biggest technology companies in the world are all converging on the same set of capabilities. The company’s argument is that having the foundational pieces is not enough — what matters is making those pieces work together in a way that non-technical business users can build, manage, and trust.It is, in other words, the same wager Writer has been making since 2020 — that the future of enterprise AI belongs not to the platform with the most powerful model, but to the one that can get an entire organization to actually use it. The difference now is that the agents don’t wait to be asked.Event-based triggers, new connectors, and enhanced governance controls are available immediately to Writer enterprise customers.
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Bank of America believes that AI tailwinds for Search are still in an early phase.Sarah b/Unsplash
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6 Best Cash-Out Refinance Lenders of May 2026
Key Takeaways
The best cash-out refinance lenders offer competitive rates, flexible loan terms, limits, and credit score requirements, and reasonable fees. Our top picks for the best cash-out refinance lenders include Rocket Mortgage, the best online lender; Carrington Mortgage for those with bad credit; and PenFed, the best credit union.
A cash-out refinance allows you to tap into your home equity by taking out a new, larger mortgage, paying off the old loan and keeping the difference.
You can use the money from a cash-out refinance for any purpose, including making home repairs or paying off high-interest debt.
You may have to pay a higher monthly payment if the interest rate on your cash-out refi exceeds your current rate.
Methodology: We reviewed more than 20 mortgage lenders and evaluated them on 7 key data points: Fees, loan terms, borrower qualification requirements, customer reviews, loan types, accessibility, and user experience.
Our top picks for the best cash-out refinance lenders of May 2026
Carrington Mortgage Services – Best Bad Credit Cash-Out Refinance Lender
Freedom Mortgage – Best FHA Cash-Out Refinance Lender
NASB – Best VA Cash-Out Refinance Lender
PenFed Credit Union – Best Credit Union Cash-Out Refinance Lender
PNC Bank – Best Multiple Loan Option Cash-Out Refinance Lender
Rocket Mortgage – Best Online Cash-Out Refinance Lender
Best cash-out refinance lenders reviews
Pros
Flexible credit requirements
Borrowers with recent history of bankruptcy or foreclosure can qualify
No private mortgage insurance required
Cons
Not available in North Dakota, Massachusetts, Texas or New York
Why we chose it: Carrington Mortgage Services (NMLS #2600) offers three specialized refinance loans that allow borrowers with credit scores as low as 550 to qualify.
Carrington’s Flexible Advantage Refinance, Flexible Advantage Plus, and Prime Advantage loans help borrowers with lower credit scores and past negative credit activity (e.g., bankruptcy, foreclosure) refinance, when they may not be able to with traditional lenders.
The Flexible Advantage program allows for credit scores as low as 550 and up to $250,000 in cash out, while the Flexible Advantage Plus program allows for credit scores as low as 620 and up to $500,000 in cash out. The Prime Advantage program has the highest credit score requirement of 660, but allows up to $750,000 in cash-out.
All of these programs will take borrowers with histories of bankruptcy, foreclosure, short sale and late payments (bankruptcy and foreclosure must be 36 months out to qualify for Flexible Advantage). They also don’t require mortgage insurance, making them more affordable for some borrowers.
In addition to these programs, Carrington offers cash-out refinances for conventional, FHA and VA loans, accepting credit scores as low as 500.
Pros
Low minimum credit score requirement for FHA loans
Several customer service options (online, phone and in-person)
Cons
Website doesn’t provide much information about lender fees or rates
Why we chose it: With a minimum credit score requirement of 550 for its Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Veterans Affairs (VA) cash-out refinance loans, Freedom Mortgage (NMLS #2767) is a great choice for FHA borrowers looking for a cash-out refinance.
Freedom Mortgage has a maximum LTV of 80% and its minimum credit score requirement is significantly lower than the 580 to 620 minimum required by most other mortgage lenders, allowing more borrowers to qualify for a loan. The company’s conventional cash-out refinance loan requires a minimum credit score of 620 and no private mortgage insurance if you retain 20% equity.
You can use Freedom’s cash-out refinance calculator to get an estimate of how much you can qualify for. Although the lender’s site does not specify exact refinancing costs, you can expect to pay between 2% and 6% of the loan amount.
Pros
Access up to 100% of home equity for VA cash-out refinances
No lender fees for VA loans
Cons
Requires minimum loan amount of $175,000
Little information provided about lender fees on non-VA loans
Why we chose it: With no lender fees on its VA cash-out refinances and the ability to convert up to 100% of your home’s equity into cash, NASB (NMLS #400039) is an excellent choice for veterans looking to refinance.
Founded nearly 100 years ago, North American Savings Bank (NASB) is a reliable option for many borrowers looking to refinance their mortgage. NASB offers cash-out refinances for conventional loans, FHA loans and VA loans as well.
On the downside, the NASB website provides little information about its minimum credit score and debt-to-income ratio requirements for its refinance loans. The lender’s cash-out refinance loan also requires a minimum loan amount of $175,000. (The lender makes exceptions for borrowers living in Kansas City, where the company is headquartered.)
Pros
Offers refinancing for VA and conventional loans
Low interest rates
Cons
Lacks detail on credit score requirements
Credit union membership required
Can take up to 60 days for processing
Why we chose it: Credit unions can be excellent lenders. Nonprofit organizations such as these often offer lower rates than other lenders, and while some credit unions have limited membership requirements, PenFed’s membership criteria are broad. Anyone can join by opening a savings account and making a $5 deposit.
PenFed’s cash-out and VA streamline refinance loans have some of the lowest rates on the market for well-qualified borrowers. Plus, you can use PenFed’s many calculators to run the numbers on how much you can borrow and what it will cost, and you can apply for the refinance directly online.
Pros
Multiple cash-out options
Easy to get a custom rate quote
Cons
Limited branch locations
Slightly elevated closing costs
Why we chose it: PNC Bank (NMLS #446303) offers a variety of cash-out refinance mortgage products, including conventional, jumbo, VA, and FHA loans, as well as PNC’s affordable lending options.
Some borrowers may also qualify for the lender’s assistance programs, which can offer between $2,500 and $5,000 in down payment or closing-cost assistance. Interested borrowers can easily get a custom rate quote for their cash-out refinance by entering their home value, loan amount, credit score range and ZIP code into a calculator on the lender’s website. The lender also offers a proprietary Home Insight Planner that lets you compare loan scenarios to choose the one that’s best for you.
Interested borrowers can easily get a custom rate quote for their cash-out refinance by entering their home value, loan amount, credit score range and ZIP code into a calculator on the lender’s website.
The bank has limited branch locations, requires a 6120 credit score and only allows up to 80% LTV for its refinances. While this may not suit everyone’s needs, the LTV restriction aligns with many competitors’ offerings.
Pros
Low credit score
Fast online pre-approval process
Cons
No physical branches
Little information listed about lender fees
Why we chose it: With a fast online application process and extensive online resources, Rocket Mortgage (NMLS #3030) is a strong choice for borrowers seeking a fully digital experience. Rocket offers cash-out refinancing for conventional, FHA and jumbo loans.
The online pre-approval process is quick and easy to complete, helping borrowers determine how much equity they can access from their home early on. Closing costs can range from 2% to 6%, and borrowers need to have at least 20% equity and a credit score of 580 to qualify.
While Rocket Mortgage doesn’t have physical branches, its loan products are available through affiliated brokers for in-person service.
Other cash-out refinance lenders we considered
While the following lenders didn’t make our top five list, they may still be worth considering for a cash-out refinance.
SoFi
Pros
Works with those who are self-employed or with non-traditional sources of income
Almost completely online cash-out refinance process
Discounts for existing SoFi members
Cons
Limited loan options
Must sign up to see rates
While it’s best known for student loan refinancing, SoFi (NMLS #696891) also offers cash-out refinancing for conventional loans, including those for self-employed borrowers or those with non-traditional sources of income. Unfortunately, the lender doesn’t offer refinancing options for government loans (e.g., FHA, VA).
New American Funding
Pros
Offers cash-out refinancing and HELOCs
Low credit score
Mostly online process
Cons
Limited information about lender fees
Can take up to 60 days to process
New American Funding (NMLS #6606) is a good option for those with experience in the mortgage process and comfortable navigating an online session. The lender offers a wide range of refinancing options and only requires a 580 credit score. Unfortunately, the company doesn’t disclose many of its fees until after a loan application is submitted, which can be a concern for those who want all the details up front. It can also take up to 60 days to process a loan.
What you need to know about cash-out refinancing
Refinancing your home can be complicated and time-consuming, full of jargon and paperwork. To help you understand the key terms and processes, we have compiled the following refinancing cash-out guide.
What is a cash-out refinance?
A cash-out mortgage refinance allows you to access a portion of your home equity as cash and use it for other purposes. Home equity refers to the difference between the amount you still owe on your mortgage and the value of your property. In other words, it’s the amount of money you could potentially get if you sold your house today. You build equity over time by consistently making your monthly mortgage payments. Increasing home values also increases your equity.
Cash-out refinancing for government-backed loans
If you have a mortgage through a government-backed program, such as FHA or VA loans, there are specialty cash-out refinance options:
FHA cash-out refinance: Through the FHA cash-out refinance program, you can refinance an existing FHA loan or a conventional mortgage. This option can be a good approach if your credit score is on the lower end, since the FHA program has lower-than-usual credit score minimums. It does require paying an upfront and long-term Mortgage Insurance Premium, though — often for the life of the loan.
VA cash-out refinance: A VA refinance loan allows you to refinance an existing VA loan, or you can convert a non-VA mortgage into a VA-backed one. You will need to meet the loan’s military service requirements to qualify.
Although cash-out refinancing is available for FHA and VA loans, it’s not available for USDA loans. You cannot use a USDA loan to take cash out of your home.
The funds from a cash-out refi are generally tax-free and can be used for anything, including debt consolidation, home improvement projects, college tuition, major purchases or even investing.
How does a cash-out refinance work?
When you apply for a cash-out refinance, you take out a new loan that is bigger than your existing mortgage balance, and the difference between the two loans is paid to you in cash. The amount of cash you can get depends on the value of your home, your credit score, how much equity you have built up and the specific lender’s maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratio.
In general, you’ll need a higher credit score for cash-out refinancing than for other loan types. While you can qualify for cash-out refinancing with government-backed loans with a lower score, conventional loan refinancing will usually require a credit score of 640 or higher.
Many lenders have a maximum LTV of 80%-90%. For example, if your home is valued at $500,000, you still owe $100,000 on your mortgage and the lender’s maximum LTV ratio is 80%, you could take out a new mortgage of up to $300,000 ($500,000 X 80%) – $100,000.
Cash-out refis are typically offered as fixed-rate mortgages, although you may find a lender offering an adjustable-rate mortgage as well.
How to find the best cash-out refinance lender
Finding the right lender for a cash-out refinance can be challenging, so it’s important to do your research and shop around to find the best rates and terms. Be sure to consider different lenders, including traditional banks, credit unions and online lenders. The following section outlines some of the main steps you take when conducting your search.
1. Research and compare multiple lenders
The best way to find the right lender for your cash-out refinance is to compare multiple lenders side by side. Look at factors such as the types of loans available, fees and closing costs. You should also compare customer reviews and ratings to see what past customers say about each lender. Trustpilot and Zillow have good rating platforms you can look to.
2. Evaluate loan interest rates and repayment terms
When considering any loan, you should pay special attention to the interest rate and repayment terms. A higher interest rate means you will pay more monthly and in total over the life of the loan, so it’s important to compare lenders and choose one with a competitive rate.
The repayment term is the length of time it takes to repay the loan. In some cases, it may be helpful to extend the repayment term to lower your monthly mortgage payments, while in others, it’s better to keep the term as short as possible. Make sure to evaluate the tradeoff between the interest rate and repayment term before committing to a loan.
3. Ask for recommendations
If you’re having trouble finding a lender, it’s also a good idea to ask for recommendations from friends and family who have recently refinanced their mortgages. Ask them about their experience and whether they would recommend the lender they used. This can be an invaluable source of information and help you quickly narrow your list of potential lenders.
4. Consider your specific needs and financial goals when looking for a cash-out refinance lender
Everyone’s financial goals and needs are different. You might be a veteran seeking a VA loan or a real estate investor looking to tap into the equity in an investment property. Different lenders specialize in different types of mortgages and sometimes offer unique loan terms that other lenders can’t match. This is why it’s important to assess your personal finances and specific needs before choosing a cash-out refinance lender.
5. Read and understand the fine print
Before signing any loan documents, be sure to read and understand the terms and conditions of the loan agreement. Make sure you’re aware of all closing costs associated with the loan, as well as any additional fees that may apply. By conducting your due diligence in advance, you’ll be able to make an informed decision about taking out a loan and avoid any unwelcome surprises down the road.
6. Consult with a mortgage professional
Lastly, it’s always a good idea to consult with a mortgage professional before making any loan decisions. The best mortgage refinance lenders can provide you with valuable insight and advice on the different loan options available and help ensure you make an informed decision about taking out a loan. They may even be able to help you secure a better loan rate or lower closing costs than what’s available from other lenders.
HELOC vs cash-out refinance vs home equity loan
While a cash-out refinance is one of the most popular ways to access home equity, there are other options available that may be a better fit, depending on your circumstances. Two of these alternatives are home equity lines of credit (HELOC) and traditional home equity loans.
A HELOC is a line of credit secured by your home. The difference is that a HELOC functions much like a credit card. You can withdraw any amount from the line of credit and repay it on a regular basis during what’s called the draw period, which typically lasts 10 years. You’ll only pay interest on the amount withdrawn. However, once the draw period ends, you’ll start paying interest and principal on any outstanding balances.
A home equity loan works like a traditional loan in that you’re given one lump sum and then have to pay back the amount borrowed plus interest over a fixed period of time. You’ll start repaying the loan right away (unlike a HELOC, which delays full payments for many years). Home equity loans also typically have fixed interest rates, while HELOCs often have variable ones.
Both HELOCs and home equity loans use your home as collateral, so if you don’t make your payments, the lender can foreclose on your home. They are also second mortgages you take out on top of your existing mortgage, which means you’ll need to make an additional monthly payment on top of your existing mortgage payments.
Cash-out refinance loans, on the other hand, replace your current mortgage with a larger loan — so you’ll still only have one monthly payment. Cash-out refinances are usually easier to qualify for than home equity loans and HELOCs, because the lender has first priority in the event of foreclosure.
Latest news in mortgage refinancing
Average mortgage rates are back above 6%, after falling into the 5% range for the first time in over three years in February. Cash-out refinancing rates are typically slightly higher than rates on traditional mortgages and refinances.
Borrowers can minimize the impact of those higher rates by shopping around. A new study found that too few borrowers are shopping around for their home loans, with only three in 10 comparing rates. Getting at least four rate quotes can save you about $1,200 annually, research shows.
Mortgage lending standards are tightening, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Despite this, applications for purchase loans and refinances were up for the week ending April 17, 2026. Overall loan volume increased 7.9% over the previous week, while refinances, in particular, jumped 6%. They were also up 52% compared to a year prior.
Cash-Out Refinance Lenders FAQs
How long does it take to get money from a cash-out refinance after closing?
After closing on a cash-out refinance, it usually takes three to four business days for the funds to be disbursed. The main reason for this delay is a federal law, which requires a three-day grace period during which you can legally rescind the loan if you change your mind.
Is a cash-out refinance a good idea?
Whether a cash-out refinance is a good idea depends on your personal financial situation. It can also offer a lower-cost option than other forms of debt (like credit cards, for example) and allow you to make value-adding home improvements. Just remember that a cash-out refinance is still a loan and comes with all the risks of additional debt, including losing your property if you can’t make payments.
Is a cash-out refinance taxable?
A cash-out refinance is not taxable. The loan proceeds are tax-free regardless of how the money is used because they are part of a loan you’ll have to repay.
How much can I get from a cash-out refinance?
The amount of money you can access with a cash-out refinance will depend on your home’s value, the amount owed on your current mortgage and the lender’s loan-to-value ratio requirements. Typically, you can cash out up to 80% of the home’s value in a refinance transaction. However, this ratio can be as high as 100% in some cases (e.g., VA cash-out refinance loans).
Is it hard to get a cash-out refinance?
It’s not necessarily hard to get a cash-out refinance, but you will need decent credit and a good amount of equity in your home to qualify. And remember: Cash-out refinances often carry higher interest rates than other types of refinances, which can lead to higher payments and more financial strain, too.
How we chose the best cash-out refinance lenders
To evaluate the top cash-out refinance companies, we considered several factors, including customer reviews, loan terms, fees, and qualification requirements. The following are the most important criteria we used in our methodology:
Fees: We reviewed the fees charged by cash-out refinance lenders, including origination and closing costs.
Qualifications: We considered various cash-out refinance eligibility requirements (e.g., credit score, debt-to-income ratio, LTV).
Loan terms: We examined the loan terms offered by each cash-out refinance lender, including the interest rates and repayment terms.
Customer reviews: We reviewed what customers said about their experience with each cash-out refinance lender.
Customer support: We evaluated the range of customer support options available from each lender.
Types of loans: We looked at the types of loans offered by each cash-out refinance lender, such as FHA, VA and conventional loans.
Accessibility: We assessed each lender’s refinance availability across states and the number of physical branches.
User experience: We looked at the user experience of each lender’s website or mobile app.
Summary of Money’s 6 best cash-out refinance lenders of May 2026
Carrington Mortgage Services – Best Bad Credit Cash-Out Refinance Lender
Freedom Mortgage – Best FHA Cash-Out Refinance Lender
NASB – Best VA Cash-Out Refinance Lender
PenFed Credit Union – Best Credit Union Cash-Out Refinance Lender
PNC Bank – Best Multiple Loan Option Cash-Out Refinance Lender
Rocket Mortgage – Best Online Cash-Out Refinance Lender
More from Money:
5 Best Mortgage Refinance Companies of 2026
4 Best No-Appraisal Home Equity Loan Lenders of 2026
7 Best Home Equity Loans of 2026