Home Equity advice needed!

[Anonymous]

My husband and I have had some financial difficulties over the past few years which caused our FICO scores to plummet. We are finally able to pay our bills on time, but our scores are in the 500's. We have an old house that desperately needs some big ticket house repairs (roof, furnace). We own the house free and clear, which is worth over $200,000, and would like to get a home equity loan to finance the repairs. What are our chances? We can't wait a year for our scores to go up because the roof and furnace can't wait that long. Advice please? 

[llecs]

You'd be surprised how fast your scores can increase once you engage in rebuilding your credit. There are plenty of stories in here of some starting in the low 500s and bouncing into the high 600s inside a year, and in some cases only after a couple of months. Absent rebuilding and fixing your credit there likely aren't any lenders willing to loan in this market. You can always sit down with your local bank or CU and review options.

BTW, welcome to the forums!

I'd suggest reading the following:

Common Abbreviations

Credit Scoring 101 - great for knowing what is in your credit score and to see how your score is impacted.

What Steps Do I Take - great for learning the repair process.

and Example letters - PFDs, GWs, DVs, etc.