u/mryuck32

My wife and I are trying to consolidate some debt and we are having some trouble securing a home equity line. We are both school teachers and she was forced to take a year off from work to complete her Master's degree. We had to supplement her income with credit cards and now we are drowning trying to keep payments current. We thought the best option would be to get a home equity loan, pay the cards off, and pay the loan off over an extended period of time. The problem is that our formally outstanding credit scores have taken a major hit due to missed/late payments. My bank said that their underwriters won't even look at our application if our scores are below 620. My Dad with excellent credit is willing to co-sign for us, but I need some suggestions on a bank that would be flexible over our credit scores. Does anyone have any advice at all that may help us out?