Eastern FlexEquity® HELOC Account

At most banks, you must choose either a revolving line of credit or a fixed-rate loan. With a fixed-rate loan, you receive all your funds when you obtain your loan and make monthly payments of a fixed amount until the loan has been paid off. 

A home equity line of credit (HELOC) is a variable-rate revolving account with a credit limit established by the bank, which you can use and repay as needed, much like a credit card. Unlike with a loan, the monthly payment on a home equity line of credit can be interest-only making it an affordable way to pay for that dream kitchen.

With an Eastern FlexEquity HELOC account, you decide how you want to use your line of credit and repay what you have borrowed.

Home equity is the difference between the current value of your home and the total amount owed on your home. For example if your house is worth $400,000 and there is a mortgage of $300,000, the home equity is $100,000. ($400,000 value - $300,000 owed = $100,000 home equity)

Generally, an appraisal is required for most requests. However, lower loan amounts and/or strong equity positions may allow the use of tax assessments or automated appraisals to determine property value.

Yes, there is a $350 early cancellation fee if you close your account within two years of opening it. If you simply pay off your balance (revolving and/or fixed loans) and leave your account open, there is no cancellation fee.

There is also a $50 annual participation fee that is waived if you have an Eastern Premier Checking account, Private Bank Checking account or Select Checking account.

Once your credit application has been approved you can complete your loan at any of our branch locations. (All property owners and borrowers must sign these documents.)

Because an Eastern FlexEquity home equity line of credit is secured by a mortgage on your primary residence, a three-day right to cancel is required, and then you can draw on your line as often as you like through the draw period up to your credit limit.

You can also decide when and whether to change the entire balance or a portion of your home equity line of credit into a fixed-rate loan.

Simply use one of the checks that you receive when you open your Eastern FlexEquity account. Or sign up to access your account through Eastern Online Banking, where you can view all your accounts as well as make payments and transfers.

You will receive a monthly statement for your Eastern FlexEquity home equity line of credit that contains details on each portion of your account: the revolving line of credit and any fixed-rate loans.

The transactions for each portion of your account, including advances, payments, and interest rate, will be itemized on this combined statement so you can keep track of exactly how much you owe and how much you still have available on your line of credit.

For example: You open a $100,000 Eastern FlexEquity account and draw $25,000 from your line of credit with your equity checks. You then ask to convert $15,000 of that into a fixed-rate Loan. Your Eastern FlexEquity revolving line of credit will show a $10,000 balance and $75,000 available. Your fixed-rate loan will show a $15,000 balance.

Each month you will receive a convenient Eastern FlexEquity account statement. If your payments are set up for autopay, they will be made automatically and you won’t receive additional billing notices.

If you don’t opt for automatic payments, simply use the bill from your monthly statement to make the payment due on your revolving line of credit and the separate billing notices you receive for each fixed-rate loan.

If you use a bill pay service or pay your accounts online, you must set up each portion of your account separately, including the complete account number and note number for each portion.

Yes, home equity line of credit (HELOC) and loan balances count toward your qualifying Eastern Premier Checking account balances. And with an Eastern Premier Checking account, the $50 annual participation fee for your Eastern Flex Equity account is waived.

In most cases we will pay off that line of credit or loan from the proceeds of your new Eastern FlexEquity HELOC.

We will obtain and process the payoff. If you receive a “discharge” document from the bank we paid off, it should have instructions regarding how to record that document. When you pay and close an Eastern Bank FlexEquity account, we also issue a “discharge” that you are responsible for recording with the appropriate registry of deeds.