Line of credit

[Nathan Zhivalyuk]

Hi everyone. 

I am currently looking to get started in doing some flip projects. I was planning on using a line of credit on my home that I own (with about 160k equity). I have good credit but not such great income. I applied through my bank (TD bank) one time on my own without a co-signer and got denied because they said my income wasn't enough. I applied a second time with a family member co-signer (with good income) but got denied because they said his credit was high enough. So now I would like to ask the forum two questions:

1) Do you think a home equity line of credit is a good source of financing for buying and renovating homes?

2) Where would you recommend to go to apply for a home equity line of credit? (Bank-which bank? Credit union? etc.)

Thanks!

[Nilesh Makhija]

@Nathan Zhivalyuk - The bank regulations are little weird, they look for stable W-2 income and want to know how you would repay the loan. I was in similar situation as yours and these are the few things which worked out for me

1. Credit Unions: Very helpful, build a relationship and understand their requirements and "why" they are looking for those requirements

2. Private Mortgage Lenders: These are not HML, and usually have better rates and can negotiate on closing costs, offer points. Basically they are more flexible and have better access.

3. Credit Card Advances: This is for short term money and would not recommend for long term vision.But if you trying to do something quick, you can try this option

4. HML: As you mentioned these have higher interest rates, but if you are looking for short term money this is not bad.

And always raising money from private investors is always the best case.