Home Equity Loan (on rental home)

Hi! I was looking into a home equity loan through Comerica bank. I got off the phone with a Comerica rep and she told me the main thing they look for is a credit score of 700+ (they average all 3 bureau scores).

She said this is the most important factor and next is debt ratio.

So. About myself. I have a home that I just got. I am in the process of fixing it up. It should be ready in about 2 weeks. I am hoping to get a tenant for $800 a month.

I have a Best Buy store card with $900 out of $4600 (19.5% of max)
A Best Buy credit card (Master Card) with $140 of $500 (27.5% of max)
A Discover card with $470 of $1800 (26.1% of max)
A visa card with $870 of $2500 (33.6% of max)
A student loan with $8200 and payments of $90 a month kick in this March

So excluding the student loan I am keeping well under the recommended 35% of max credit line.

Total debts add up to $2380 and total credit limit adds to $9400. So I am using up 25.3% of my credit limit at the moment.

My credit scores as of 11/10/09 are
Transunion: 713

Experian: 668 <---they show a collection date opened 11/2003. The other bureaus do not have this. I got a $130 traffic ticket in Canada at 19 years old and they reported me to collections wayyy too fast. I paid the ticket a couple months late. This incident is over 6 years old and I filed a dispute which will hopefully get it off my record and bump my score 25-30 points which will take me to 693-698.

Equifax: 692 <---this should bump over 700 a few months down the road

My income right now is unpredictable as I am a stock trader. I'd guess it is between $10,000 and $20,000 this year. Plus the $800 a month on the home which I anticipate will start coming in next month.

A few months down the road do you think I will be approved if I apply for the equity loan? I will use it to buy a second rental home. I currently live with my parents and my expenses are very low each month.

I am looking for a "real job" so that I can provide a better and more secure source of income.

Also, any tips or advice on what to do or about home equity loans in general would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

How much equity do you have on your property? I guess one needs to have atleast 20% equity on the property to qualify for a home equity loan.

Bought the house for dirt cheap and paid in full. I have to admit I just opened up a Home Depot credit card w/ a $5,000 line and I plan to use up roughly 35% of my max ($1,750) in repairs.

I'm very pleased with Home Depot as they gave me my highest credit limit to date!

Anyhow, I am concerned cause I have no real job. But I am working on that. What I do have is a good credit score which will hopefully only go up over the next few months. I won't apply until I am certain my score is over 700. So probably around mid-February I will recheck my scores.

But if I hear from Experian that they removed my collections item and my score shoots up then I can possibly apply early.

Just worried about the no real job part!