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PNC Home Equity Loans Review
By Joan Pabón MONEY RESEARCH COLLECTIVE
While it didn’t make it into our list of best home equity loan lenders, PNC is one of the largest banks in the United States and a highly-rated financial institution. And it provides a broad range of products and services for both individuals and businesses.
In the home equity market, its Choice home equity line of credit allows homeowners to tap into their home equity without being subject to the sudden rate changes typically associated with HELOCs.
Table of contents
- PNC Home Equity Overview
- PNC’s Services
- PNC’s Credentials
- PNC’s Accessibility
- PNC’s Customer Satisfaction
- PNC FAQ
- Summary of SacBee’s PNC Review
PNC home equity loans overview
- Option to lock-in a fixed rate on your HELOC, with a $100 flat fee
- 0.25% rate discount for setting up automatic payments from your PNC checking account
- $150 cash offers for HELOCs $75,000 and over
- Apply online, over the phone or at a branch
- No home equity loan options available, only lines of credit
- Lack of substantial information on rates, fees and terms
- Mortgage rates and fees can differ from state to state
- Doesn't offer loans in AK, HI, LA, MS, NV and SD
PNC Bank, a subsidiary of PNC Financial Services Group, offers a single home equity product, its Choice home equity line of credit (HELOC).
Although the company does not offer home equity loans, its Choice home equity line of credit offers a fixed-rate option that can protect you from potential market hikes and unaffordable monthly payments, one of the main drawbacks of most HELOCs.
And as of August 8, 2022, APRs ranged from 2.25% to 24%, and loan terms ranged from 5-30 years in most states. PNC doesn’t specify the length of the draw or repayment periods, but the bank does state you only have to pay interest on the funds you use during the draw period, after which you will have to make both principal and interest payments.
Your actual rate will depend on your loan amount and loan-to-value (LTV) ratio. And just as with any HELOC, there will be some closing costs.
PNC’s services
PNC mortgages offer a variety of home loan types for potential homebuyers, including FHA, VA and USDA loans. For homeowners looking to benefit from their home equity, the only option is PNC’s Choice home equity line of credit.
What’s offered
- Home equity lines of credit (HELOC)
- Mortgage refinancing
- Fixed-rate 15-year and 30-year mortgages
- Mortgage refinancing, including cash-out refinance
- Adjustable-rate mortgages
- FHA loans
- VA loans
- USDA loans
- Jumbo loans
What’s not offered
- Home equity loans
PNC’s home equity loan process
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Apply for a home equity line of credit
The application process with PNC is a fully online experience, with the company’s website providing you with tools to help you figure out how much equity you have in your home, how much you could borrow, what your loan options are and what your monthly payments might look like. You will then need to provide personal details, including your social security number and information about your home for the bank to determine your eligibility.
If you do not wish to apply for your HELOC online, you can also do so through the phone or in person at a branch.
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Provide required documentation
Once PNC has reviewed your application, credit score and payment history, it will request documentation to prove your income, such as pay stubs and copies of tax statements.
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Loan processing
PNC will then verify your information, including your home’s value and your income.
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Set up your closing appointment
Closing usually takes seven to 10 days after final approval.
PNC’s credentials
PNC was founded in 1845 and is one of the largest banks in the United States. PNC Mortgage is credited with funding the first mortgage in the U.S. The company has no complaints registered with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and is rated highly by credit rating agencies such as Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s.
Licenses and registrations
PNC Bank National Association is registered with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry (NMLS). Its NMLS ID is 446303.
Third-party ratings
PNC’s financial strength ratings evidence its ability to meet its long- and short-term financial obligations.
PNC Bank, N.A.
| Moody’s | S&P | Fitch | DBRS | |
| Senior debt | A2 | A | A+ | AA (low) |
| Subordinated debt | A3 | A- | A | A (high) |
| Long-term deposits | Aa3 | A | AA- | AA (low) |
| Short-term deposits | P-1 | A-1 | F1+ | R-1 (middle) |
| Short-term notes | P-1 | A-1 | F1 | R-1 (middle) |
Regulatory or legal actions
PNC Bank, N.A. has no complaints registered against it on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) database.
PNC’s accessibility
PNC serves 44 out of 50 states and provides customer service over the phone, in person or even by sending a message to its Twitter account.
Availability
PNC’s home equity loan products are available in all 50 states except Alaska, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada and South Dakota.
Contact information
You can call PNC at (412) 803-7711 for any personal account dealings. Its customer service hours are Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET and weekends from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.
You can also tweet the company at PNCBank_Help for any service questions you might have or visit one of its 2,600+ locations across the country.
User experience
Prospective HELOC borrowers may apply online or call a Home Lending Center representative to go over their options. After your HELOC is approved, you may transfer your funds directly to your PNC checking account as you need them. PNC even provides a checkbook and a credit card to use the funds on the go as you see fit.
You can apply online, call 866-979-2047 to apply by phone or do it in person at one of PNC’s physical locations.
Limitations
Some sections of PNC’s website are available in Spanish, but a lot of the information on the site remains untranslated. PNC states that if there are any discrepancies between the English and Spanish language versions of the website, the English version will stand.
PNC’s customer satisfaction
Although we found online customer reviews to be overall critical of PNC’s customer service experience, the company has repeatedly won awards for customer satisfaction.
Customer complaints
PNC Bank has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), although the bank is not accredited by the institution. It has received low ratings (one out of five stars) on both the BBB’s website and Trustpilot.com, with most complaints revolving around customer service representatives not solving the client’s particular problem.
Third-party ratings
PNC ranked number one in the Mid-Atlantic region for customer satisfaction on J.D. Power’s 2022 Retail Banking Satisfaction Study. It also ranked number one in the New York Tri-State region in 2021.
PNC FAQs
Is PNC good for HELOCs?
PNC offers HELOC customers the possibility of locking in a variable rate on their line of credit, giving them a flexible option not many other mortgage lenders offer.
The lender also claims to offer competitive rates and no hidden charges — there's just a $100 fee every time you lock or unlock your rate. But, of course, the interest rate you're offered will depend on your income, credit score, debts and loan amount, among other factors.
What is the interest rate on a PNC HELOC?
As of the date of this review, PNC interest rates range from 2.25% to 24% with no minimum draw amount.
How do I pay my PNC HELOC?
PNC's HELOC terms range from 5-30 years. While the company doesn't specify the length of the draw or repayment period, most HELOCs have a 10-year draw period during which borrowers can make interest-only payments on their draws.
During the subsequent repayment period, borrowers are expected to make both principal and interest payments, as they would with a mortgage loan. And unless they locked in their interest rate during the draw period, their monthly payment amount could change every month.
How does one calculate PNC Home Equity options?
Home equity is the value of your home after you subtract what you still owe on your mortgage. PNC has tools available to help you calculate the equity in your home, how much of it you could tap into and what the terms of your HELOC could be.
How we evaluated PNC's home equity loans
For this review, we looked at PNC's home equity loan products, taking into account the lender's rates, annual charges, fees and closing costs. We also considered the company's financial stability, online customer reviews and third-party ratings.
Please note that rates, fees and third-party ratings are subject to change and may have done so since the date of this review.
Summary of PNC’s HELOC review
PNC does not offer home equity loans, only home equity lines of credit. That being said, the company’s HELOC product does feature competitive rates and the ability to switch from a variable rate to a fixed rate at any time during the draw period.
This feature essentially curtails the usual drawback of a HELOC (having to keep up with fluctuating monthly payments as a result of having a variable interest rate) and assures the homeowner their line of credit will not be subject to the instability of the market. Also, although PNC’s online customer ratings are low, its strong financial stability and customer satisfaction ratings speak to its good reputation.
For more home equity options, check out our list of best home equity loans.
Joan is a professional translator, writer and editor with a special interest in personal finance and insurance topics. She has been a contributing author and independent researcher at ConsumersAdvocate.org since 2017 and an editor at Money since 2019. Her work has been featured in MSN Money and Apple News.