Dear Debt Adviser,
I applied for a home equity line of credit with my mortgage lender. I was denied, in part, because I've been late occasionally on my mortgage payments. I now have a credit score of 670 and a high-interest auto loan for $5,400 that I'd like to pay off. Do you have any financial advice for someone like me? Please help!
-- Sherry
Dear Sherry,
One reason you were denied a home equity line of credit is because late mortgage payments put you in the category of a high-risk borrower. Your current credit score reflects that level of risk. Another reason you were denied is that you applied for a loan with the same lender using the same collateral.