A Way to Tap Home Equity That Consumer Advocates Call Toxic
⚠️ Content note: This article references the death of a family member.
Elizabeth Aniskevich, Senior Counsel at Singleton Schreiber, is co-counsel in a class-action lawsuit featured by The New York Times in an article titled "A Way to Tap Home Equity That Consumer Advocates Call Toxic," published on November 6, 2026.
Aniskevich, alongside the National Consumer Law Center, represents Massachusetts homeowners in the class action filed in August against Unison, a home equity agreement provider. The article cites an example from the complaint in which a homeowner granted Unison a 70 percent stake in her home in exchange for a $57,137 equity advance, and Unison estimated that as of September 2025 she owed as much as $241,651.
The article examines home equity investments, which financial technology firms market as a way to access home equity without new debt or monthly payments. Some state authorities and consumer advocates say the contracts are a type of home loan, with complex terms that do not disclose an interest rate and require a balloon payment at the end of the term, and that labeling them as investments allows providers to avoid consumer protections that apply to traditional home loans.
