How Katie Found Her Way Back to Independence in Retirement

Katie, a self-described “happily retired” homeowner in Arizona, has been in her house for eight years.

In that time, she has made many cherished memories, including Christmases cooking together with her whole family at the big kitchen island. She chose this house for a fresh start specifically because it was less than a mile from her youngest daughter and son-in-law's home. While she had moved in with them for a time after her husband passed away, independence remained important to her.

Then, about three years ago, everything changed.

One morning, Katie walked into her laundry room to find it flooded. Her home warranty company sent a plumber to her home, and he diagnosed the problem as a broken water heater. The only issue? This was a repair her warranty didn't cover. She paid for a replacement out of pocket, only to wake up the next morning to find the laundry room flooded… again. But this time, the news was far worse. There was a significant leak under the foundation, which required her kitchen to be gutted, her floor drilled through, and everything rebuilt from scratch. To top it off, she was recovering from knee replacement surgery at the time.

Her homeowners insurance covered almost nothing, due to the age of the house. The repairs cost around $8,000 upfront, and she had to hire a separate construction crew to put her kitchen back together — a process that dragged on for six months. The debt piled up fast.

"It was bad," Katie said. "I had been happily debt-free. And all of a sudden, I couldn't pay my bills."

Frustrated by Financing Options

Despite having roughly $150,000 in home equity, Katie couldn't easily access it. Her debt-to-income ratio had deteriorated so much from her repair bills that a traditional loan wasn’t an option. She even looked into bankruptcy, but at her age, the idea of spending a decade rebuilding her credit was less than ideal. She even tried a debt settlement company, which helped reduce some balances — but not enough. The situation kept pointing toward the same painful conclusion: sell the house, pay off the debt, and move back in with her daughter.

That's when she came across Hometap on Facebook.

Her first instinct was to be skeptical — it was a Facebook ad, after all. But something about it made her pause. Before moving forward, she brought the idea to her son-in-law, a property owner she trusted to vet her financial decisions. She made it clear to him that with a home equity investment, she’d be sharing a percentage of her home's future value with Hometap — and that when the time came to settle at the 10-year mark, she planned to move in with him and her daughter. Was he comfortable with all of that?

He took three or four days to research it, and gave her the green light. "He's very skeptical about everything," Katie laughed. "If he says it's good, I feel confident."

A Weight Lifted

She called her Hometap Investment Manager, who she describes as “wonderful” — patient, communicative, and always making her feel like more than just a number. She was also pleasantly surprised when the whole process was completed in less than a month, and the funds arrived on her birthday.

Hometap offered something that a traditional loan couldn’t offer: no monthly payments. After being buried in debt, the idea of taking on another bill felt impossible. With a home equity investment, she wouldn't owe anything until she eventually moved out and sold her home — a timeline she's at peace with.

"What price are you willing to pay for your freedom?" she said, referring to getting out of debt. "For me, to get free, to have all that weight lifted from my shoulders — I am happy I did it."

Living Life on Her Own Terms

Today, Katie’s back to her routine: spending mornings with her dog, coffee, painting, tending to her plants, and hosting family. She recently took a road trip with her great-granddaughter — something she says she simply couldn't have done before. She's proud of her home, purple walls and all (her late husband never would’ve allowed it). And most importantly: she's no longer living day to day.

For anyone in a similar position, her message is simple: don't count it out just because you saw it on Facebook.

"I couldn't have gotten a better birthday gift," Katie said. "It was like I made a call, and the next thing I knew, I’m out of debt, I’ve got money in my savings account…a weight has been lifted.”

Interested in finding out how much equity you might be able to tap into? It takes just seconds to get an Estimate.