HELOC - getting ridiculously low LTV due to income

[Michael Jiang]

Hi BP!

I just applied for a HELOC at a major US bank and it turned out they can only offer me a ridiculously low 20% LTV...Here is my situation:

1. I own a house (primary residence) which is appraised by the bank at $2 million. It's all paid off, no mortgage. 

2. I have a W2 at a startup and the income is not decent at the moment. ~150k annually. 

3. I have excellent credit score (790+) and other assets including properties, cash, stocks. 

4. I wanted to get a HELOC for 1mm for a new development. I was originally told it should be do-able at 50% LTV. However, now they are telling me they can only give me $400k due to my income.

Is this common? Shall I try another bank?