Ok. So I bought my house almost 3 years ago in a homeowner-financing situation. Monthly mortgage payment with a balloon payment in 3 years. We have the title, we have homestead exemption. We renovated the house. House now worth 2x what we bought it for. New AC, new hardwood floors, bath and kitchen redone, etc. A vibrant neighborhood, walkable to park, grocery store. A great little neighborhood for our little family of 4. 2BR/1BA. Potential rental home in the future. We made our mortgage payment on time every month, but our balloon payment is coming up.
PROBLEM: In between the time we bought the house and now, I had baby and some medical problems which did a number on my credit. A hospital filed a lawsuit against me for a $700 remaining balance. I paid them in full and never went to court, but it still shows up on my credit report. Now the bank will not give me a loan to refinance. I am looking at other options.
My partner's credit is fine, but is self-employed. (The pay period that the lender is looking at, he had taken off a week or so of work to put up a fence, do some landscaping and some home repairs and so income is lower than normal for that time.) So without including my income, he doesn't make enough money to qualify (although I think really he does).
We do not have very much monthly debt. Car payment of $240, which will be paid off in a year, student loan payment of $50/ month.
We need a loan for $42,000. I have thought about the online lenders, but not sure how legit they are. Also curious about how long the process takes.
Any ideas?