HELOCs and Home Equity Loans in Lexington, SC: Borrow Against Your Equity and Keep Your First Mortgage

On January 5, 2026, the Lexington Town Council voted 6-0 to annex 191 acres in the 300 block of Barr Road, where Meritage Homes plans 299 single-family homes with one entrance. Because the land is inside the town, the builder has to pay for the traffic studies and the road improvements, as WIS reported after the vote. On May 4, council also gave final approval to a 51-townhome neighborhood, as the Town's council action items show. If you already own in town and are not planning a move, that is a lot of building going on around a home you intend to keep.

If you own your Lexington home and mean to stay in it, a HELOC or a fixed-rate home equity loan lets you borrow against your equity for a project and leave your first mortgage exactly as it is. On the two lender sheets I quote here, a line of credit is the only choice that goes below $100,000.

I'm Jeff Moran, NMLS #483943, a mortgage broker licensed across South Carolina through C2 Financial Corporation, NMLS #135622, and I have been in the mortgage business since 1996. I work from Bluffton and handle Lexington clients by phone and online. This page is for the client who already owns. My Lexington page covers the town itself, the Columbia area page covers the region, and the home equity page lays out every way of using equity, including the ones that are not a second mortgage. The terms below come from the written sheets of two second-mortgage lenders, dated May 2026, and I am quoting what the sheets say.

Why a smaller project points to a line of credit

Think about what a Lexington homeowner usually wants the money for: a new roof, a kitchen, a bathroom, a deck, a car repaid early. Any of those can come in under $100,000. The sheets treat that range very differently from a larger loan.

	Quorum HELOC	Angel Oak HELOC	Angel Oak fixed-rate second
Smallest amount	$25,000	$125,000	$100,000
Largest amount	$750,000	$750,000	$750,000
Rate	Variable, Prime plus a margin	Variable, Prime plus a margin	Fixed, in 10, 15, 20 or 30 years
Payment during the draw	Interest only	Interest only	Not interest only
Draw period	10 years, then 20 years of repayment	15-year line: 3-year draw; 20-year line: 5-year draw; 25-year line: 10-year draw	None, one loan

So if what you need is $60,000, the only product on these two sheets that goes that low is the Quorum line. If it is $150,000 or more, all three are in play, and the choice becomes a question of how you want to be paid back.

Reading the Quorum sheet for a project of any size

The Quorum sheet lists a floor rate of 4.95%, a limit of 2 percentage points on how much the rate can rise or fall in a year, and a lifetime cap of 18%. It states plainly that there is no prepayment penalty, and that the margin over Prime is set by your credit score, your combined loan-to-value, the loan amount and how you use the home. The sheet adds 0.500% to the margin on a line under $50,000 and 0.250% over $500,000, so a very small line costs a little more per dollar than a mid-sized one.

The fees on that sheet are a $495 origination fee, a $100 processing fee, a $6 flood certification and a credit report at $87.15 for one client or $174.30 for two. They are debited from the line at closing, except the appraisal fee, which is due at application. No draw is required at closing. Quorum's minimum credit score is 640.

A worked example: $60,000 on a $450,000 Lexington home

I do not have a sourced median sale price for Lexington, because the Columbia-area market research I rely on could not get a public sales report. So this uses a round appraisal, a first mortgage balance and a project cost I made up to show the math, and none of them is a market statistic.

Say the home appraises for $450,000, you owe $280,000 on the first mortgage, and you want a $60,000 line.

Step	Arithmetic	Result
First mortgage plus new line	$280,000 + $60,000	$340,000
Divide by the home's value	$340,000 / $450,000	about 75.6%

That 75.6% is the combined loan-to-value, or CLTV, and it is under every cap on the Quorum sheet for a one-unit primary home: 95% at a score of 720 or higher, 90% at 680 to 719, and 80% at 640 to 679. The 640 to 659 tier also has a $100,000 cap on the line, and a $60,000 line is under it, so this project works across the whole score range. On valuation, the sheet's standard for a line of $400,000 or less is an automated valuation, and a full appraisal above $400,000. It adds that the underwriter can upgrade the valuation if the value is not supported.

Now change the project to $190,000. The total becomes $470,000 on $450,000 of value, which is about 104%, and no tier allows that. The most you could add at the highest tier is 95% of $450,000, which is $427,500, minus the $280,000 you owe, or $147,500. The project size and the home's value set the limit, and no lender appetite changes that.

When the fixed-rate loan fits a Lexington project

A fixed-rate home equity loan is one loan for one amount, with a payment that stays the same. Angel Oak's sheet lists the closed-end second at 10, 15, 20 and 30 years, from $100,000 to $750,000, and says interest-only is not allowed. For a primary residence it allows 90% at a score of 720 with loans up to $500,000, 90% at 680 with loans up to $400,000, 85% at 700 up to $500,000, 80% at 660 up to $400,000, and 75% at 740 up to $750,000.

If the project is a known amount of $100,000 or more and you want the payment settled from day one, this is the one to price next to the Quorum line. For a smaller project it is out of range.

Self-employed, second homes and the other limits

If you own your business, both sheets take bank statements instead of tax returns in some cases. Quorum's sheet allows 12 or 24 months of personal or business statements at a minimum score of 680, a maximum CLTV of 65% and a maximum loan of $500,000. Angel Oak's HELOC and closed-end second use the same CLTV tiers on bank statements as on full documentation, with a $500,000 cap if the statements are personal. My self-employed page explains how a business owner's income gets read.

Second homes and investment properties have tighter limits on both sheets, and Quorum's standard line does not cover investment properties. Those limits are not on this page, so please send me the address and how you use the home.

South Carolina closing details for a second mortgage

The state's deed recording fee, set in S.C. Code § 12-24-10, applies to deeds, and the South Carolina Department of Revenue describes it as a fee for recording a deed when real estate is transferred. A second mortgage is not that kind of document.

What to have ready, and the next step

Please have your latest first mortgage statement, all pages, and the declarations page of your homeowners policy. After we talk about your plans I will tell you what else the lender wants.

HELOCs and home equity loans are not priced in the Rate & Best Fit tool on this site, so the next step is a call to me. I will go over your first mortgage, your home's likely value and the amount, and tell you which lender and which loan fits. If you are thinking of a cash-out refinance instead, my South Carolina cash-out page covers it, and my South Carolina page covers the rest of the state.

Nothing on this page is a loan approval, a denial or a commitment to lend, and it is not tax advice. Each lender sets its own terms and can change them. The figures here are from sheets dated May 2026, and the lender's guidelines at the time of your application govern.

Common questions

Can I get a HELOC in Lexington, SC for less than 100,000 dollars?

On the two sheets I quote, yes, through the Quorum line, which starts at 25,000 dollars. The Angel Oak HELOC starts higher than that and its fixed-rate second starts at 100,000 dollars, so a small project points to the line of credit.

What credit score does a Lexington HELOC need?

The Quorum sheet sets a minimum of 640. Lower scores carry lower combined loan-to-value caps and a lower dollar cap on the line, so the amount available grows as the score does.

Does a HELOC change my first mortgage rate?

No. A HELOC or a home equity loan is a separate loan behind your first mortgage, with its own rate and its own payment. If your first mortgage rate is lower than rates today, that is the reason to consider a second mortgage over a cash-out refinance, and I will price both for you.

Does South Carolina charge a tax to record a HELOC?

The state's deed recording fee applies to deeds that transfer real estate, and a second mortgage is not a deed.

Can a self-employed Lexington homeowner get a home equity loan?

Often yes. One lender takes 12 or 24 months of bank statements with a lower maximum loan when the statements are personal, and the other takes them at tighter limits. I would go through your file with you to see which one fits.