I've been trying to get a home equity loan or line of credit and have just been told by one lender that I must have made 6 payment on my first mortgage since I refinanced. 

Can I just apply for a EIN # using my name and my SSN # to get a business bank account and business credit card?

And about 35,000 of that was on a credit card..

526 harwood street, Joliet, IllinoisDuplex x2 (2 bedroom 1 bath), electric heating, window a/c (bottom unit doesn't have a/c), no garageThe current tenants are paying $2,200 total for poor conditions. 

Many of the condos in secondary  / tertiary markets are now just starting to recover from 2008 and push to new price highs, but their capital reserves have not (especially in older buildings)  I would go back and review the reserve study of your condo and see how well/poorly they are capitalized.

I've come to learn that they have about 15-20k in appreciation that they want to take advantage of in order to pay off some credit card debt.

I've recently talked to about a dozen local banks and credit unions, and it was difficult to find one that offered a LOC on an investment property. 

For extra credit, you should refer them to a great listing agent and make the introduction!

The Tenants kids spill koolaid ( poor people love koolaid ) and they let it sit or try to clean it up themselves by a wet towel instead of immediately using a steam cleaner .

But alive and well many places such as banks, credit unions, etc and it does not benefit the consumer overall.