Obtain unsecured Line of Credit for Buy and Hold / Flips

[Dave S.]

Has anyone approached a bank / financial institution to propose opening an UNSECURED line of credit solely for use to buy, rehab and either hold or flip? If so how did the presentation go, what was covered, what were the stumbling blocks and what was the key points that closed the deal?...Also how much did you go in for (obviously going in with a rock solid presentation and asking for $1M will have a different result if you went in with the same solid presentation and asked for $10K).

Please also share what banks you presented to, which were "kicking you out the door", ones that were on the fence, and the one(s) that accepted your offer

Looking forward to hearing peoples experiences!!!

[Jose Clavijo]

Hi Dave. I was in the same position about 2 years ago. I have personal and business accounts with Wells Fargo. I began creating a relationship with the business banker at my local branch and would visit him every now and then to get tips on ways to work on a long term relationship with the bank so i could have additional lines of credit (credit card and unsecured line of credit) in order to buy and hold real estate. 

I knew that i would have to start low and the banker mentioned that the bank would increase my credit lines with time. Long story short , i started with a business credit card with $10,000 limit. They increased my credit limit and it is now $16,000.

I applied for an unsecured business line of credit for one LLC and was approved for $25,000 that line has increased to $35,000. I opened in February 2018.

Last summer i applied for another unsecured business line of credit on another LLC, got a better rate and was approved for $10,000 that line of credit is now $15,000.

I have used the line of credit to buy and repair rental property which i buy and hold. I am making payments to pay off and once paid move on to the next. I have not requested an increase in the line of credit yet, all increases have been given to me without applying for an increase. I will request an increase later on this year and hope that it will be approved. I know they seem like baby steps but i should have started doing this long time ago. Hopefully one day that credit line will be $100K