Financing Question- HELOC

[Cassidy Burns]

HI BP,

My soon to be private money lender just applied for a HELOC on their current residence. Their home is 100% paid off and will appraise for around $90,000-100,000. She currently has a Home Equity Loan with a remaining balance of $7,000. She went into the bank today and she said they could potentially approve her for $40,000 due to her DTI. Does this play a role? This number seemed low.

Advice on other steps/options we could take?