Custom Pools works with LightStream by Truist, plus HFS Financial, Viking Capital and Paramount Capital Finance. All of them keep your home equity out of it. Here's how each one works, and a quick way to see if financing fits.
No origination, no prepayment penalty, no application or late fees. What's quoted is what you pay.
Unsecured personal loan — your house stays out of it. No liens, no appraisal, no title work, no second mortgage.
Set once at funding and locked for the life of the loan. The monthly payment never moves.
Same-day funding is possible after approval. Different category of product than a HELOC's weeks-long underwriting.
Every option has tradeoffs, and no one of them wins every row. These are the figures each partner publishes — where a partner doesn't publish one, we say so rather than guess.
| LightStream | HFS | Viking | Paramount | HELOC | Cash | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who lends the money | Truist Bank | Third-party lenders | Third-party lenders | Lyon's lending partners | Your bank | — |
| Home as collateral | No | No | No | No | Yes | — |
| Home equity required | No | No | No | No | Yes | — |
| Rate type | Fixed | Fixed | Fixed | Fixed | Variable | — |
| Loan amount | $5K – $100K | $3K – $450K | Not published | $5K – $200K | Limited by equity | — |
| Longest term | 20 years | 30 years | 20 years | Not published | Varies | — |
| Rate check, no credit hit | Not published | Yes — soft pull | Yes — soft pull | Not published | No | — |
| Funding speed | Same day possible | 48 hrs after approval | As fast as 1–2 days | Released in stages | 30–45 days | Immediate |
| Interest tax-deductible | No | No | No | No | Sometimes | — |
| Where it shines | No fees, straight from the bank | Biggest ceiling, longest terms | Comparing lenders at once | Draws that track the build | Lowest rate if you have equity | No interest at all |
We don't push one over the others — different projects and credit profiles suit different lenders. Every one of them lets you see terms before you commit to anything.
Direct lender A division of Truist Bank, so you borrow straight from the bank with nobody in the middle. Unsecured, so your house stays out of it.
Loan marketplace HFS isn't the lender — they match you with lenders from their panel. The money is then paid straight to you, not to us.
“You Dream It, We Finance It.”
Check your rate with HFS View the HFS Financial flyer (PDF) Loan broker Also not a lender. Viking shops your project across a panel of lenders and brings the offers back, so you compare from one application.
Loan program A pool-specific program run with Lyon Financial, who has underwritten backyard projects since 1979. Paramount isn't the lender either — the application goes to Lyon.
If another lender offers you a better rate on a comparable unsecured loan — same amount, same term — on the same day, LightStream beats it by 0.10 percentage points. Must be an unsecured loan, not a HELOC. Proof required before funding.
If you're not satisfied with how your loan was handled, tell them within 30 days of funding and they'll send you $100. It's a service guarantee — not a rate guarantee — but no other major lender does anything like it.
No name, no email, no credit check. This is a self-assessment to help you decide whether to apply at LightStream or talk to us first.
LightStream's "check your rate" runs a hard credit inquiry — not a soft pull. If you're shopping multiple lenders, line up all your applications within a 14-day window so the inquiries bundle as one on your credit report.
These local pages include city-specific installation context, service details, and FAQs to help you estimate project scope before applying.
LightStream is a division of Truist Bank, Member FDIC. NMLS #399805. Rates change — see lightstream.com for the current figures.
HFS Financial (NMLS & MD CSB #1680766), Viking Capital and Paramount Capital Finance all state that they are not lenders — each matches you with unaffiliated third-party lenders who issue the loan, and Paramount does so through Lyon Financial. All loans are subject to credit approval, and rates, terms and fees are set by the lender, not by Custom Pools. Figures above are the ones each partner publishes and can change without notice; claims about credit-check impact are theirs.