The BMO home equity line of credit, called BMO Homeowner ReadiLine, is like having a mortgage and line of credit all in one. It’s best understood as one loan with 2 parts: the mortgage portion, which has regular payments, and the line of credit portion, which you pay back only as you need to use the funds.
Because the line of credit is secured against your home, you’ll have lower interest rates than most unsecured lines of credit. This also means you can put some of your mortgage on the line of credit portion, essentially splitting your mortgage up. But with limited access to your money, is the BMO Homeowner ReadiLine right for you?
BMO Homeowner ReadiLine features
Here’s an overview of what to expect from BMO’s Homeowner ReadiLine.
Why You Want It
Get a flexible mortgage from a reputable company + Competitive interest rates.
Special Features
- Smart Fixed rates available
- Lock in a rate with 130-day guarantee
Eligibility
- At least 20% equity in your home
Features
Bank Prime Rate
4.45%
Online Banking Access?
Cheques Access?
Debit Card Access?
ATMs Access?
In-Branch Access?
Protection Available
- Balance protection
- Payment protection
Split Mortgage Available?
BMO Homeowner ReadiLine product rating: 3.9 stars
The BMO Homeowner ReadiLine is an interesting option for Canadians who want to have some easy-to-access emergency credit with low interest rates. It offers all the standard features of home equity lines of credit, making it a good choice if you have your mortgage at BMO.
That said, the ways you can access your money are a bit less flexible than with some other banks. And BMO doesn’t offer much to help their product stand out from the crowd.
Rating methodology
To calculate our Genius Ratings, we compare the features of the account or product in question with other similar products in Canada. We give each feature a score out of 5 based on that comparison. Once we’ve rated all the features, we run them through our proprietary algorithm to produce a final rating out of 5.
Learn more about our rating methodology.
The pros of BMO Homeowner ReadiLine
Here are some things you can look forward to.
Pros
Line of credit portion can be used for anything
Whether you want to use the line of credit part of your Homeowner ReadiLine towards home improvements, car payments, or anything else you can think of – you’re free to borrow as you please, with low interest rates. Just note you can only borrow up to 65% of your home’s value.
Split up your mortgage payments
Since you can use your line of credit for anything, you could use it to pay off part of your mortgage. This gives you more flexibility when it comes to paying off your home. For example, if you have a fixed rate mortgage and a variable rate line of credit, you could pay a portion of your mortgage at a variable rate if you moved it over to your line of credit.
Line of credit stays open as long as you own your home
You only have to apply once for the Homeowner ReadiLine, and it stays open as long as you own your home. That makes it perfect as a low interest loan whenever you need it – since you never know what could happen in the future.
Lower interest rates because it’s secured against your home
The best part of the line of credit portion of the BMO Homeowner ReadiLine is that you’ll get lower interest rates than you’ll likely find anywhere else. That’s because this is secured against your home, so the bank is taking on less risk by loaning you money.
The cons of BMO Homeowner ReadiLine
And here are a couple things to keep in mind.
Cons
Can only borrow up to 65% of your home’s value for the line of credit portion
Though the mortgage portion can be up to 80% of your home’s value, the part of Homeowner ReadiLine that gives you a line of credit is limited to 65% of your home’s value. Depending on the price of your home, that’s still a sizeable amount of money, but still important to note.
Your mortgage must be at BMO
You can’t have a mortgage with another bank and qualify for the BMO Homeowner ReadiLine – if you do have a mortgage elsewhere, you'll have to switch it to BMO before you can take advantage of this product. Though standard, it’s still something to keep in mind.
BMO Homeowner ReadiLine alternatives
As shown in the below table, the big banks have very similar offers when it comes to their home equity line of credit.
 |  |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Account | BMO Homeowner ReadiLine | Scotiabank Total Equity Plan (STEP) | TD Home Equity FlexLine | RBC Homeline Plan |
| Genius Rating | ||||
| Why You Want It | Get a flexible mortgage from a reputable company + Competitive interest rates. | Borrow up to 80% of your home's equity + Easy online loan management. | Access low interest rates + Borrow up to 80% of your home’s value. | Take advantage of low interest rates + Flexible repayment options. |
| Bank Prime Rate | 4.45% | 4.45% | 4.45% | 4.45% |
| Online Banking Access? | | | | |
| Cheques Access? | | | | |
| Debit Card Access? | | | See Issuer for Details | |
| ATMs Access? | | | See Issuer for Details | |
Show More | ||||
| See rates & details See more BMO products Compare | Learn More See more Scotiabank products Compare | Learn More See more TD products Compare | Learn More See more RBC products Compare |
FAQ
What is BMO Homeowner ReadiLine?
BMO Homeowner ReadiLine is a combination of a mortgage and a home equity line of credit. The mortgage portion will act just like a normal mortgage, with regular payments and various interest rate options. But you’ll also have access to a line of credit that’s secured on your home’s equity, giving you lower interest rates and flexible payment options. Learn more about BMO Homeowner ReadiLine here.
What is a home equity line of credit?
A line of credit is a lot like a credit card, where you can take out money when you need it, up to a certain credit limit. With a home equity line of credit, it’s secured against the part of your home you have paid off. This means you’ll likely have lower interest rates than usual, but you risk losing your home if you can’t make minimum payments.
How can I increase my home equity line of credit limit?
Since your credit limit with BMO’s Homeowner ReadiLine is connected to your home equity, your limit will increase the more principal you pay off on your mortgage. Note that the maximum borrowing power of the line of credit portion is 65% of your home’s value.
Editorial Disclaimer: The content here reflects the author's opinion alone, and is not endorsed or sponsored by a bank, credit card issuer, rewards program or other entity. For complete and updated product information please visit the product issuer's website.
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