Advice for moving forward

[Aaron Millis]

Hi BP,

So my situation is that I have a good bit of equity in my 2 homes, but I cannot really access it. I would like to do a Heloc for one or both of the homes but my DTI ratio does not meet the 45% that banks require. The main reason for that is that a good chunk of my income is coming from my rental property. I have not been renting the property long enough to have proof via tax returns (they always ask for them) that they produce income. This will be my first year filing as a landlord so that will help down the road, but not now. Also I thought about just getting job to increase my income but most banks won't count money from basic jobs (like bartending) as income. They want me to have an actual career doing something.

My question is, is there a technique/strategy people use to get loans using their equity in RE as collateral? I feel like my options are basically wait, or find a private lender that cares mostly about the deal and is okay with using my assets as collateral..

Thanks.