Sub-680 credit, a recent event, or a past bankruptcy
Second-lien programs with published credit floors in the 600s exist in the wholesale channel — they are simply never advertised where consumers look. Below those floors, or too soon after a bankruptcy or foreclosure, the honest bridge is private lending now with a refinance later, not a fourth application to the same automated lenders.
The situation
One bad year, a medical mess, a business that failed honorably — and now every slick equity app declines you in ninety seconds while the equity itself just sits there.
Why the usual channels say no
- Automated equity lenders publish floors and stick to them; the decline is instant and unexplained.
- Retail banks layer their own overlays on top — a 680 program becomes a 720 reality.
- Recent credit events carry published seasoning clocks (often 48 months in wholesale matrices; some run longer) that no amount of explaining shortens.
What actually places it
Wholesale matrices we track publish second-lien tiers with floors in the low-to-mid 600s at reduced leverage — real programs with real caps, reachable through brokers.
Below the floors or inside a seasoning window, equity-based private lending can bridge to a refinance once the clock runs — a plan, not a consolation prize.
A worked example
Three years past a discharged bankruptcy, band 640–679:
- Home value
- $540,000
- First mortgage (kept in place)
- $280,000
- Cash needed
- $110,000
- Combined loan-to-value
- 72.2%
- Published floors in this band we track
- 620–660, reduced caps
The CLTV is conservative and floors in this band exist — the placement question is which program’s seasoning clock this bankruptcy has already outrun.
Illustration with rounded figures — a scenario review, subject to full underwriting, credit approval, and property review.
Questions people bring to this page
Will running the desk hurt my score?
No. You choose a credit band; there is no pull of any kind from the intake.
How much does bruised credit cost in leverage?
Published grids step CLTV down as bands drop — a file that supports 85–90% at the top band may cap at 70–75% lower down. The memo shows the caps that apply to yours.
How long after a bankruptcy or foreclosure?
Wholesale second-lien matrices commonly publish around 48 months of seasoning from the event; some programs require more, and a few price shorter windows. It is program-specific — which is the point of checking all of them at once.