Q: We put a bid on a HUD home and won. The amount is for $51,000, but we are having trouble getting financing.

We own our home we live in outright. We have a credit score in the 800’s, make $100,000 year, have one car loan, and no credit card debt.

We’ve checked with my credit union and two other lenders and they are telling us that since this would be investment property, we’d need to put 25 percent down (which is okay as we have the cash). We also have the cash to do the repairs needed to the property (about $8,000 in total).

**The lenders are telling us that it’s not worth their time to lend us such a small amount of money. We were given 48 hours to find financing. We’ve spent 24 hours already. Can you give me some advice?

A: You should consider getting a home equity line of credit and using the cash to purchase the house outright.**

A home equity line of credit is hard to get these days, but given your cash position and great credit scores, you can probably get an equity line on your primary residence for $50,000 to 100,000, depending on the value of your property.

Try to get it for a higher amount, then use the cash to buy the property.

If you can’t get a loan on the investment property, go where the money is easier to get – in this case, it might be your own home. But, you’ll need to find a lender that can give you a home equity line of credit or second home loan quickly in order to have the money ready for the purchase of the property you want to buy.