HELOC on mortgage-free house, without a W-2

[Lisa Sluss]

Hello all,

I'm trying to obtain a HELOC on a property I own free and clear. Actually, I own two houses free and clear (including my residence), both in Atlanta. The problem I keep running up against is the fact that I don't have a W-2 to provide to the bank, and my adjusted gross income on my taxes isn't very impressive. I live very modestly off rental income. I'm NOT interested in a hard money loan. I don't understand why a bank won't loan me money on a mortgage-free house. It seems very low risk. They would be the sole lien holder on my house. Any advice and/or names of banks that may work with me would be greatly appreciated.