HEI (Home Equity Investment) is a relatively new financial product that lets a property owner sell a share of their home's future appreciation to an investor in exchange for cash today — with no debt, no interest, and no monthly payments.
The category has grown explosively in the United States since 2017 — companies like Unison, Point, Hometap, and Splitero have raised over USD 5 billion in investor capital. In Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), classical HEI is essentially unknown.
This page explains what HEI is, how it works, how it differs from a reverse mortgage, and why HomeGrif is the European adaptation of the HEI model tailored for retirees.
How HEI works
A typical US HEI transaction:
- The homeowner (often middle-aged, not necessarily retired) needs cash — to pay down debt, fund education, start a business, or improve the home.
- The HEI investor pays the homeowner a lump sum — typically 5–25% of the property's current value.
- The homeowner remains the legal owner, continues to live in the home, and retains all rights.
- No monthly payments, no debt, no interest.
- Settlement is triggered by one of these events (typically within 10–30 years):
- Sale of the property
- Buyback by the homeowner
- Death of the homeowner (passing to heirs)
- The investor receives a share of the property's value at settlement — not its original value. If the home appreciated, the investor profits. If it declined, the investor loses.
HEI vs reverse mortgage vs viager
| HEI (US model) | Reverse mortgage | Viager / HomeGrif | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product type | Equity investment | Loan | Sale |
| Creates debt? | No | Yes (accumulates) | No |
| Owner after transaction | Homeowner | Homeowner | Investor |
| Lifetime residency? | Yes (per contract) | Yes | Yes (life estate) |
| Monthly payments? | None | None (debt grows) | None |
| Settlement | Sale / buyback in 10–30 yrs | Death / property sale | Never (no debt exists) |
| Target audience | Working age + seniors | Seniors only | Mainly seniors 50+ |
| Client risk | Loses share of upside | Debt may exceed value | Fixed annuity, no risk |
| Available in CEE | No | No | Yes (HomeGrif) |
| Available in US | Yes | Yes | Limited |
Why HomeGrif is "HEI for European retirees"
HomeGrif takes the core HEI insight — giving the homeowner cash without creating debt — and adapts it to the European context and the needs of retirees:
| US HEI feature | HomeGrif adaptation (CZ/SK) |
|---|---|
| Owner keeps title | Owner sells the property (HomeGrif settles upfront for legal certainty) |
| Lump sum only | Lifetime annuity, lump sum, or combination (flexibility for retirees) |
| Settlement in 10–30 years | No settlement event — owner took cash now, residency for life |
| Investor shares upside and downside | Investor takes longevity risk (length of life) |
| Target: ages 30–60 | Target: 50+ (mortgage-free property owners) |
| Lifetime residency not always | Always — life estate registered in land registry |
In short: US HEI is investment in the home's value. HomeGrif is investment in retirement income from the home's value.
Why HEI doesn't yet exist in Europe
No company offers a US-style HEI in Czech Republic or Slovakia. Reasons:
- Slower property price growth in CEE versus the US (HEI investors need appreciation to profit) — though this argument is weakening as both CZ and SK have seen strong real estate cycles in the last decade.
- Different demographic profile — in the US, HEI's primary customer is the working-age homeowner; in CEE, the senior segment is the priority.
- No secondary market for HEI contracts — in the US, specialized funds buy HEI portfolios.
- Regulatory uncertainty — HEI is not a loan, not a classic security, but a legal experiment.
HomeGrif is the first CEE product built on HEI logic (no debt, equity-based transaction) but with a European legal form (sale + life estate) and a senior target audience.
The best-known global HEI companies
- Unison — category pioneer, founded 2004 in San Francisco. Has invested in tens of thousands of US households.
- Hometap — Boston, founded 2017. 10-year settlement window.
- Point — Palo Alto, founded 2015. 30-year settlement window.
- Splitero — San Diego, founded 2021.
In Europe HEI as a product is still missing. The closest relatives are the French viager (on which HomeGrif is built), the German Teilverkauf (partial property sale), and the British lifetime mortgage (which is a classic loan — equity release).
Frequently searched terms
- "HEI Slovakia / Czech Republic" — classical US HEI does not exist in CEE. HomeGrif is the closest adaptation with senior-specific tailoring.
- "Home Equity Investment calculator" — the HomeGrif calculator shows what you would receive from a lifetime-residency buyback (the European HEI variant).
- "HEI vs reverse mortgage" — HEI is not a loan and creates no debt; a reverse mortgage is a loan whose balance grows over time.
- "Unison / Hometap Slovakia / Czech Republic" — no US HEI company operates in CEE.
Related resources
- Reverse mortgage in CEE — why it doesn't exist and what alternatives are available
- Retirement from property — how to convert home value into pension income
- Glossary — viager, equity release, HEI, NNEG, life estate
- Comparison — HomeGrif vs other approaches
- European experience — viager, Leibrente, Teilverkauf, lifetime mortgage