HELOC Qualifying

[Jason Merchey]

I was thinking about taking out a HELOC for a real estate investment. I have good credit, and so does my wife. We have a little cash reserves. She recently became employed after taking some time off, and I have an investment stream that sometimes pays off, sometimes doesn't, in other words is not consistent. There are also a few little cash flow streams, and virtually no debt. So, question is, without a job per se, are my chances of getting a HELOC nil? Or if all our credits are simply greater than all our debits in a given month, will a bank or CU likely offer a HELOC to a family such as mine?

[Robert Steele]

I have contacted several banks, both national and local, about getting a $30K HELOC on my free and clear $225K property. I have 800 FICO and make well over 6 figures a year but none of them will do it. Apparently they have a criteria - must be owner occupied - that doesnt take into account how safe or juicy the deal is.

So they would rather lend to someone with a 640 FICO, a $35K annual salary and 75% LTV than me just because they live in it. Weird.