San Diego, CA · Member since 2018 · 53 posts · 17 votes
Hello everyone, I hope everyone is safe and in a good mental space; given the circumstances.
I've been working to be as ready as I could be in the event of a downturn. I've done a few REI projects and am currently working on permits for an ADU at my current house-hack. Once permitting is complete, I will need to either use my cash reserves to build or hopefully I have a personal line of credit established so I don't have to use my reserves. Hopefully, upon completion, I can refinance a cash-out or convert the used portion of the line into a term loan.
I can't get through to my bank, what other ways have you all used to get a line of credit?
You can try peer to peer lending such as SoFi... I used them before for a personal loan for $65k. If you can merge some of your credit card lines together and cash withdraw if your bank offers a 0% interest for 12 months or more. I dont that where I merge 3 of my Bank of America credit card lines together and had one card with a $75k limit and I was able to pull $30k cash with an 16 month 0 interest and I used that to do a BRRRR deal.
Good luck many banks are overwhelmed with processing loans for small businesses. My recommendation is the Credit Unions. Navy Federal Credit Union will process online a Home Equity Credit Line for 80% of your home equity. Personal line of credits are very hard to open at the moment.
You can try peer to peer lending such as SoFi... I used them before for a personal loan for $65k. If you can merge some of your credit card lines together and cash withdraw if your bank offers a 0% interest for 12 months or more. I dont that where I merge 3 of my Bank of America credit card lines together and had one card with a $75k limit and I was able to pull $30k cash with an 16 month 0 interest and I used that to do a BRRRR deal.
@Oscar Miguel, try to find other lenders. I'm on the opposite side of the country from you, but I deal with stuff like this all the time. I have clients that want to use their bank for mortgages or loans, just because they have had a checking account there for 10 years. It doesn't matter, in my opinion. I understand loyalty, but I also understand getting the best deal. If your local bank doesn't offer what you need when you need it, there are a ton of lenders out there, and it's amazing the difference from lender to lender, no mater what people say. It's not all the same. Now is a wild time with all the craziness going on, but some of us are still going hard. There are lenders out there who know how to get it done. Put some time in on the phone talking to different people until you get the answer you want. Check with friends and family for local referrals or on here (like you are doing) for people outside your normal sphere. Find a GOOD lender, who can talk you through your best options and go from there. If you're diligent, I'm sure you can find a way to make it work.
You can try peer to peer lending such as SoFi... I used them before for a personal loan for $65k. If you can merge some of your credit card lines together and cash withdraw if your bank offers a 0% interest for 12 months or more. I dont that where I merge 3 of my Bank of America credit card lines together and had one card with a $75k limit and I was able to pull $30k cash with an 16 month 0 interest and I used that to do a BRRRR deal.
I just did the same thing! BOA is awesome for this kind of stuff. I just pulled out 50K off of a single card to have extra funds for this crazy time. 0% for 12 months. i did have to pay a 3% transfer fee, but it's worth every penny to have that cash on hand.
@Oscar Miguel I got a line of credit with Wells Fargo within a week. It was really easy and all they did was run a credit check and ask for my ID. I also have two mortgages with them and I bring in cash every month, not sure if it helped.
I am planning on opening another a credit line with US Bank. Hope they are easy to work with!
@Cameron Price that is awesome brother!! You are on the right track.. Yeah I love BOA for that!!! Let me know how your deal goes... @Ramon Flores I got two mortgages and a CC with Wells Fargo.... I need to look into that line of credit.... was this a persona loan or business line of credit?
@Oscar Miguel I got a line of credit with Wells Fargo within a week. It was really easy and all they did was run a credit check and ask for my ID. I also have two mortgages with them and I bring in cash every month, not sure if it helped.
I am planning on opening another a credit line with US Bank. Hope they are easy to work with!
Ramon, was the amount of the line large enough for your needs? Did you need to request a larger accepted amount and if so, was it easy to negotiate with them?
@Oscar Miguel Hey Oscar, I foolishly did not ask for a lot. I requested only $10,000 but I could've requested a lot more. I don't really need it, just want to have backups ready in case things get bad.
My advice is to have a number in mind and have documents ready in case they need documentation. If you have large credit lines and good credit already I believe it should be easy. It was all done online and there was no negotiation.
@Oscar Miguel Good for you for looking for lines of credit. I have one open with Chase and my HELOC. I will probably open another with BofA or USBank. In the past, I've also had good success with SunTrust for very low cost unsecured lines of credit.
@John S Lewis call your credit card dept and asked them for special rates... if you been a customer for a extended period of time.. they will have some special offer for you
Click on the tab that says Transfer Balances or Get Cash
Select Direct Deposit
Choose which offer you want. Mine had 0% for 12 months or 1.99% for 15 months. both have a 3% transfer fee. You may get different offers. I had an 832 credit score and no debt, so they've been all but begging me to take these offers. lol!
Be warned, if you do this, your credit score will drop drastically! Taking this took me from an 832 and 824 to a 699 and 720. I'm ok with that for now.
Also, I'm not sure if all of BOA's cards offer this. I'm using the Bank of America Cash Rewards Card. I've built it to a 56K limit and pulled 50K off of it (plus the $1,500 fee), so I now have a balance of 51,500 on a 56K limit, hence the massive credit score drop.
For a personal line of credit, you'll get approved for about half of your cash in hand (pending you fill out a personal financial statement). PFS is just a report card for your finances "I own this, I owe this...net worth calculation."
They won't include investment accounts as liquid. Needs to be backed by cash.
I.E.
If you want a personal credit line for $50,000. You'll need $100k liquid in the bank...not $50k in cash $50k in 401(k). $100k cash.
$20k needs $40k.
They'll also subtract a little from your reserves for personal expenditures based on your monthly bills which is in your PFS (above).
If you open a new BUSINESS account at any bank, they'll automatically push a LOC on you (for your biz). So you could go to 2-3 mid-large banks and get a $10k LOC right off the bat with $0 in your new biz checking acct.. If your business is established with tax returns that show you made money, you could get auto approved faster and for more.
---- This was gathered from working with mid-to-large regional banks.
Have not talked with local credit unions what their policy is.
Be warned, if you do this, your credit score will drop drastically! Taking this took me from an 832 and 824 to a 699 and 720. I'm ok with that for now.
I've been working to have my credit and debt in perfect position to strike...this would kill me if I want to refi my current house hack and then shop for my next...
@Oscar Miguel I just recently got a line of credit through Key Bank and a local credit union here in Ohio. Key bank just checked credit and asked for my income. The local credit unions just required last two years of taxes. Like the others above mentioned, just call around to different banks/credit unions. I would not do a loan, only an unsecured line of credit that way you don’t have to make payments until you draw on the money. Make sure that is clear upfront when calling them. Not to mention when you pay it back you can reuse. Make sure to check how long the lines last as well, the local credit union line I got is only for three years opposed to the Key Bank one is for ten years. Hope that helps!
@Cameron Price - they don't seem to have that option for my corp business card. :-(
You rarely get that kind of offer on business accounts. It's only for personal. I wish I could have done that on a business account and saved the credit score hit.
@Cameron Price If you're able to get the Bank of America business card the withdrawal won't show up on your personal credit score. I did the same thing when I purchased my duplex.