3-1/2 years post discharge, rejected for HELOC

[joshuagraham]

There is currently no mortgage, so the HELOC would take the 1st position, and only up to 60% LTV.

The loan officer did not mention that the bank flat out rejects any individual with a BK (evidently, she only "enters the information into the system"), as "the bank is very conservative."

Oh well, should I just give up until another 6-1/2 years?

[justbroke]

If you are EVER shopping loans (Mortgage, HELOC, etc), then you should actually "shop" the loans! I am not advocating that you get the HELOC for the reasons that you would like, but if you want to "shop" the loan, try Lending Tree. Many banks are very conservative these days. You need to use a system (like Lending Tree) what will shop the loan around for you. (That is not to say that underwriting will still get you in the end.)

You need very good scores for a HELOC (think 680+ for the middle score). The type of HELOC may also be a factor (interest only with balloon, 5-year interest only with balloon, single draw, multi-draw, temporary draw, etc.).

[Logan]

There is currently no mortgage, so the HELOC would take the 1st position, and only up to 60% LTV.

The loan officer did not mention that the bank flat out rejects any individual with a BK (evidently, she only "enters the information into the system"), as "the bank is very conservative."

Oh well, should I just give up until another 6-1/2 years?

I am 6 years out of BK and I have a HELOC in the 2nd position with a CLTV of 90%.
I would guess that you would need 4 years out of BK for most banks to consider a HELOC.