Money is the problem...

[Melissa Kirchhoff]

Isn't that always the case?

So I have a fun situation. I own a house and I have excellent credit and make a reasonably decent income. The problem is that I am a joint tenant with someone who does not have those things. She's having trouble sort of finding her way and struggling with debt and is self-employed with a very low income (hence the debt). We split everything, the mortgage and taxes, everything.

I'm ready to get started in investing, the problem is the loans. I can't get anything because of my debt to income because they consider me paying everything myself (mortgage, taxes). We are both afraid of not being able to sell the house for what we originally went in wanting to get out of it, and she's also afraid it won't be enough for her to get a loan for her next purchase. Finally, I had the idea to take out credit against my house but then realized that probably means re-creating a loan, basically, including her financial situation.

So now I'm back to the drawing board (working my *** off to try to save cash to buy these properties). But I feel a tiny shred of hope still. There has to be a way. Does anyone know a way to refinance or take out a line of credit against the house that doesn't involve basically a new credit check? Or is there some other route for me besides just cash? Please, someone give me hope! Thanks!