No. Our equity line allows you to begin paying back principal and interest right from the start. This gives you a more consistent monthly payment throughout the life of your line and it also enables you to build equity faster.

Transfer your funds:

• If you need to transfer your home equity line funds to an external account, you will first need to transfer the funds into a Third Federal savings account.
• To transfer funds from your ELOC to a Third Federal savings account, log in to Online Banking and navigate to the Transfers/Payments tab.
• Once your funds are in your Third Federal savings account, you may transfer to an external bank account.

Access your funds:

• Use your home equity debit card.
• If you do not have a card and would like to order one, log in to Online Banking and click on “Debit Card Order” from the “Additional Services” navigation menu.
• Utilize your HELOC checks.
• If you would like to order additional checks, log in to Online Banking and click on “ELOC Check Order” from the “Additional Services” navigation menu.

To view Tax Statements, login to your Third Federal Online Banking account, navigate to the Statements and Documents tab, click on the Tax Statement card.

If you are not currently enrolled in electronic tax statements, navigate to the Statements and Documents tab, select View Profile in the upper right corner, and then select the Pencil to edit your preference to Electronic and then click Submit. You will receive an email when your tax statement is available for viewing.

If you prefer to receive a hard copy, tax statements will be mailed by January 31 each year for the previous year. If you have not received your tax statement by February 15, you can request a copy by sending a secure message through Online Banking (located under the “Secure Messaging and FAQs” tab), or visit your local branch for assistance.

To apply for an Equity Line of Credit you will need to be able to estimate the following information:

• Gross annual or monthly income amount
• Your monthly payments for property tax and homeowners insurance
• List of assets (i.e., checking, savings, CDs)
• Paystub dated within at last 30 days of the application date illustrating year to date earnings of at least 30 days
• Most current year’s W2 form

Yes, income verification is required on our home equity applications.

You'll need to provide the following income documents for all borrowers:

• Gross annual or monthly income amount
• Your monthly payments for property tax and homeowners insurance
• List of assets (i.e., checking, savings, CDs)
• Paystub dated within at last 30 days of the application date illustrating year to date earnings of at least 30 days
• Most current year's W2 form

You may apply for an Equity Line of Credit by applying online, visiting one of our branch locations or by calling Customer Care toll-free at  1-800-844-7333.

You can apply with Third Federal, but we will require you to close your existing account as a condition of approving you for the new account. Third Federal handles this process for you.

Closing Costs - Third Federal does not charge customers closing costs.  Closing costs may include a credit bureau report, appraisal, title work, flood evaluation, mortgage filing, mortgage and other miscellaneous taxes. (Florida borrowers are responsible for doc stamps and intangible taxes; New York, Maryland, Minnesota, Tennessee and Virginia borrowers are responsible for mortgage taxes; Georgia borrowers are responsible for intangible recording tax.).

Application Fees and Loan Origination Fees - Third Federal does not charge customers for these fees. Some financial institutions will charge customers a fee to help recover the costs of originating a home equity account.

Annual Fees - There is $95 annual fee.

Prepayment Penalties - Third Federal does not charge customers for paying off or closing the account. Due to the costs associated with setting up a home equity line of credit, many financial institutions will charge customers a fee (ranging from $150 to $350) for closing the account within the first two to three years after the account is opened.

A home equity line of credit is much like a credit card, except that you are using your home as collateral for the money that you borrow. You typically receive a much lower interest rate and the interest is frequently tax deductible (consult your tax advisor).  You are given a maximum line amount that you can borrow against and pay back as often as you like. You must make a minimum payment  each month.

Since it's set up as a line of credit, you won't be charged until you use the funds. Once you have an active monthly balance, your monthly payments are based on how much you borrow and the current rate of interest on the account.

The most common ways to access your line of credit are with checks or a debit card. You only pay principal and interest on the money as it is borrowed. Once the money is paid back, you may use the funds again.

A draw period is a time frame during which you can both borrow and pay back on the line as many times as you like. During the draw period, you are required to make minimum monthly payments.

When the draw period is over, a repayment schedule will be set up.  Because it is a flexible line of credit, a Home Equity Line of Credit is particually useful in situations where you are uncertain how much funding you will need or you anticipate having to borrow again in the future.

A home equity line of credit offers flexibility to the borrower. It is an authorization to borrow up to a specific dollar amount. The customer can use as little or as much of the line of credit as needed, whenever it is needed. Interest is only paid on the borrowed amount. The rate is variable and based on Prime Rate.

With a home equity loan (HELOAN), you receive funds in one lump sum. For a fixed rate HELOAN, you will pay a fixed monthly payment for the term of your loan. For an adjustable rate HELOAN, the rate is fixed for the first set years (for example: five years for a 5/1 adjustable rate HELOAN). After the initial fixed rate period, the rate would adjust to Prime Rate one time per year.

Interest Rate is the rate used to perform interest calculations and establish the monthly mortgage payment.

Annual Percentage Rate (APR) defines the cost of the loan expressed as a yearly rate, the amount of interest in dollars and the total payment over the life of the loan.

Because you're paying principal right from the start, your monthly payments are more balanced and reliable. Many equity lines have large payment increases at the end of their draw periods. There are no surprises with our equity line. With our lower rates and faster principal payback, the average customer saves about $8,000* over the life of their loan.

Yes. Third Federal offers Home Equity Lines of Credit in AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, SC, TN, VA, WA and WI.

At this time, Third Federal offers home equity loans in 26 states: AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, MI, MO, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, SC, TN, VA and WA.

For more information, please apply online at apply online, contact our Customer Care department toll-free at 1-800-844-7333 or visit one of our branch locations.

Yes, your Equity Card works the same way.

Debit cards work over the same worldwide networks (MasterCard, Visa, etc.) used to process credit card payments. With your personal identification number (PIN), you can use your card three ways:

1.  Withdraw cash from an ATM. 
2. Complete a cash advance transaction at the branch.
3. Request "cash back" at stores when making a purchase.

To change the PIN (Personal Identification Number) for your Third Federal Home Equity Card, call toll-free 877-267-6914.

You need to make sure you know your current PIN and that you have activated your debit card before calling this number.

To activate your Third Federal Home Equity Card, call 866-619-0245 (or 513-534-0031 for International cardholders) to activate your Home Equity Card.

You can make a regular payment on your loan as well as a principal only payment through Online Banking. Under the Payments and Transfers Tab are options to make a payment from your Third Federal account or from an external account.

The Prime Rate is the interest rate charged by banks to their most creditworthy customers. The Prime Rate has traditionally been priced at 3% above the Fed Funds Rate, which is set by the Federal Reserve. For example, if the Fed Funds Rate target is at 3.75% then Prime Rate will be 6.75%. Third Federal does not set the Prime Rate.

From time to time, the interest rate on your Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) may change due to a change in the Prime Rate.

The interest rate will change effective the date of the Prime Rate change, and the interest is prorated based on when the change occurred during the month.