Hello forum,
Posting this to help anyone that is shopping around for a HELOC. I surfed through these forums a lot and that's how I found out about Signature FCU. I have a 3-unit property that I live in one unit and rent the other two out. I read on the forums about Signature FCU and how slow they were to process HELOC but they were amongst the few that would offer 100% LTV HELOC so I decided to give it a shot. They only did a soft pull so I am more than happy that I was able to get a $130k HELOC with no HP.
Here is the timeline:
- 8/14 - Applied for membership online
- 8/14 - EQ soft pull showed credit score at 804 (I found out about the score when I got the letter in the mail)
- 8/22 - Membership approved (I had to reach out multiple times since there was no traction on my application)
- 8/23 - Applied for HELOC
- 8/27 - Received disclosure documents and well as request for POI and a bunch of documents
- 8/28 - Sent all requested documents
*One week went by, did not hear from anyone and LO was not responding to my emails or calls
- 9/6 - Received email from LO that the loan was in process and that they were going to request property valuation report
- 9/15 - Received call from LO that property valuation report came back at $580k and I owed $470k on the property so only able to get $110k HELOC. LO explained that if I could get a CMA from a local real estate agent they could use that for the loan. I originally wanted the HELOC for $130k so I reached out to a local agent and requested a CMA.
- 9/19 - Received CMA from local agent that showed value at $609k abd forwarded to LO
- 9/21 - Received email from LO that CMA has been received and they'll be in contact.
- 9/25 - Sent email requesting update
- 9/27 - Received update that process could take 4-6 weeks and that loan is being processed (pretty much telling me stop emailing us)
- 9/30 - Received email with approval. They approved me for $130k at prime rate plus 1% (9.50% currently)
- 10/2 - Received call to go over terms and loan closing process
- 10/6 - Received all loan documents to print, sign, notarize and mail back
- 10/13 - HELOC showed up on my online account fully funded
The process was painfully slow but definitely worth it in my opinion. At times, a whole week would go by without hearing from anyone. Took two months from membership application to HELOC funding but hey, no hard pull associated with this HELOC, can't complain about that! They pay for almost all closing costs (which are like $1500 total) and as long as you keep the line open for 36 months, you don't have to pay them back those closing costs. I only had to pay $250 processing fee which got deducted automatically from the HELOC and I paid off right away since I don't need the money right now.
They pulled EQ only which happens to be the bureau showing the highest score in my reports. They also give you the option to apply for any of their credit cards, LOCs or other loan products using the same membership soft pull, so long is within 60 days from the pull. I did not need another credit card but they do have a personal line of credit with a limit of $25k that sounded interesting but decided not to go for it.
Let me know if you have any questions.
