Keep hitting roadblocks

[Jennifer Shearin]

Three years ago I bought my first big rehab project for $81k, and got a 10 yr. construction loan from a local bank to rehab it. My interest rate is at 4.5% and I still have that loan. It's a historic house and I turned it into a multifamily, got the rehabilitation certified by the NPS so I got a bunch of tax credits, and it's been a cash flow cow for the last two years. I put around $170k into the rehab. I estimate the current value to be around $360-380, and I owe $182k. I don't want to sell until I've used all my tax credits, and I don't want to do a cash out refi because of my low interest rate. I found a lender that said they would do a HELOC, but they are using an automated system to value the property and they are coming up with a value of $186k, using the old information and previous sales price. This is a small town and there really aren't any good comps in the historic district. So, they won't do my HELOC because they are nearly $200k off on the current value. To get a full appraisal, I would need to do a cash out refi.

How does anyone get a HELOC without a full appraisal when they've added a ton of value to a property ? I really need to tap into this equity. I am in negotiations on a new project and I was really counting on being able to tap into that money. The other problem I have is that my DTI is too high to get another big rehab loan from the same local bank. I do have a 9 to 5 making six figures, and all four of my rental properties are cash flowing, so I'm not sure why I keep hitting all these roadblocks. Any ideas?