New to BP in Rockland Co, NY - Q on banks

[Mary W.]

Hi all, I'm in Rockland County, NY. I was a real estate broker in NC from 2002-2008 then moved to NY in 2008 (no reciprocity so I didn't renew license) and settled down with a W-2 job. I house hacked my current and former primary residences but otherwise haven't been very active in real estate since then. Now I think I have enough equity to pull out in a HELOC and buy some rentals locally.

Chase holds my mortgage and is offering good HELOC terms but seeing as I want to build a local relationship with a smaller bank I figure I'm in a better position if I'm bringing over checking/mma and a primary HELOC before asking for other financing -- any thoughts on this approach?

Lastly, does anyone have personal experience with any of the following banks with regards to refi-friendliness and financing for rental properties held by an LLC? Obviously I'd personally co-sign the debt and my score is over 800. I'm looking at Visions FCU, Affinity FCU, or People's United Bank as they all seem to offer good heloc terms but can't know without experience what they are like to deal with regarding rental investments so if anyone has any feedback positive or negative I'd love to hear.

Thanks!