How to tap into my equity?

[Chester S. Chincuanco]

Hi All, I've been living in my house since 2008 and been house hacking before I even knew there was a term. I currently have a full house, with 4 renters, a dog, and a 2 cats. So how do I tap into my equity to secure another property to do it all again. Must I stay at my dreadful W-2 job for 2 years to qualify for the HELOC?

[Steve Shafer]

@Chester S. Chincuanco Good news: the whole 2 years of tax returns thing you might be thinking of does not apply when you're a W-2 employee, only as a contract employee. You probably have a good deal of equity if you bought 14 years ago, and yes you can absolutely tap into this in the form of a HELOC. Call around to some of your local credit unions—in my experience, they have better terms and can go higher on LTV than many for-profit banks (don't know if this is a thing or just my perception). The loan originator at whatever credit union you select will be able to tell you in the first phone call what HELOC amount you will qualify for. This is a great time to open a HELOC, despite rates on the rise. Even the high rates are lower than inflation, so if you want access to capital, a HELOC makes a lot more sense than saving up money in the bank where it's losing 8% as it waits to be deployed.