Due to tight finances for several years my house is in pretty bad shape and in need of several repairs. Toward this end I have been seeking credit, with limited success. I've primarily been trying to get credit cards, and succeeded in getting a Cap1 MasterCard ($500 CL) and hit the jackpot with AMEX ($8K on BCE, but at 24% interest). But I will likely need in excess of $20K for all the repairs I'll need. I also got turned down for about 5 other CCs, resulting in several hard pulls. Car loan refinancing also racked up several hard pulls, though I ultimately succeeded in cutting my car payment by ~$100/mo.
The other option is a home loan. I've been afraid to pursue this route for fear that I'll require an appraisal, which likely won't be in my favor due to the poor shape the house is in. The house was originally purchased in 2004 for $95K, which I've paid down to $76K. I nearly ended up in foreclosure after my job loss and BK7 several years ago, but tapped out my 401k to save the house.
Zillow estimates that the house is worth $145k now, but I've had 2 or 3 flippers tell me the house would need $30K or $40K in repairs (not sure if that includes updates/remodeling to kitchen and bath) to fetch ~$125K.
I also recently got a letter from a company called "Figure" or figure.com. They said I was pre-approved for $64K based on their AVM. Apparently final approval rests not on a formal appraisal, but on a few different AVMs. The fact that they seem to base their decision solely on AVMs seems to be in my favor, but I've never heard of them before. Has anyone here heard of them? Are they easy to work with? Do they foreclose at the drop of a hat?
They mentioned 'strong credit', so they must have done a soft pull on Experian, which is the only CRA I have a 'good' rating with. I assume they're likely to hard pull TU and EQ when I apply, which could well sink my 'pre-approved' status and cost me one (or three) hard pulls.
I also recently got a Navy Federal savings & checking account (and membership, obviously.) I would seek out credit from them, but from what I understand they usually pull TU and EQ for loans. I plan to eventually get a CC from them, but wanted to wait 6-12 months for all the hard pulls to fall off and build up payment history with my two new CCs.
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