In this instructional video, personal‑finance expert Denzel Rodriguez walks viewers through finding a second‑position home equity line of credit (HELOC) in North Dakota. He explains that only three institutions meet his criteria: Trail North Federal Credit Union, First Western Bank, and Capital Credit Union. For each, he details introductory rates, ongoing rates, loan‑to‑value (LTV) limits, and the interest‑rate index used (e.g., Trail North uses the Constant Maturity Treasury plus a margin, rather than the prime rate). He notes recent Fed rate hikes that may make some posted rates slightly outdated and advises viewers to call banks for the most current terms. He also lists several honorable‑mention credit unions that require direct inquiry. Throughout, Rodriguez emphasizes a proven approval framework—pre‑game work, positioning, and choosing the right local credit union—to dramatically increase the odds of approval. He argues that local credit unions generally offer lower fees and better rates than large national banks, making them the preferred choice for accelerating debt payoff, improving cash flow, and building credit toward financial independence. The video concludes with a call to subscribe, a plug for one‑on‑one coaching via his website, and a reminder that the series will continue covering other states.
Chapters
Today we are covering the state of North Dakota, how to find the right home equity line of credit in the second position. Let's take a look at the whiteboard. Unfortunately, in this video I did not find a whole lot of banks that met my criteria in the state of North Dakota. So for those of you who are residents in that state, in this series on how to find the right line of credit, the right HELOC in the second position, take a look at some of the other videos where I've covered neighboring states. And more than likely, you're going to see some banks that cover 5 states, 10 states, 15 states, 20 states. If North Dakota is in there and it beats what I have here on the board, consider that bank as another option as well. All right, this, this series is specifically focusing on credit unions and smaller banks across the country going state by state. So here we are. I found 3 worthy of the whiteboard. One called Trail North Federal Credit Union. They have a 1-year intro rate at as low as 5.99% at an 80% LTV, no closing costs. Something interesting that I have not seen yet in this entire series that I've done, almost 40+ videos— this bank, instead of going off prime interest rate, which is what most banks calculate their rates off prime. And in fact, I actually have to make an update here because as I'm recording this video in September, towards the end of September, interest rates did increase. That was actually quite unexpected, I, I won't lie to you. So now we are at a 7% prime interest rate as of today. Which means some of the information that I'm sharing in some of these videos that I'll be dropping in September, they might be slightly out of date because the banks have not yet updated their website. Usually it takes about a month before they post their new rates. Most banks are month to month in terms of how they issue their HELOCs. All right, so anyone that got approved for HELOC pre-Fed meeting in September, and those getting a HELOC now post-Fed meeting are literally having a 0.25 difference in their, in their interest rate, intra rates, etc. So just keep that in mind. This bank specifically actually doesn't go off prime. Goes off something called the constant money treasury something, if I'm not mistaken. Let me actually take a look. Yeah, so Trail North Federal Credit Union. Yeah, constant maturity treasury, so CMT for short, which is around like 4-something percent, and they add a margin of 3.25. So the number that I have is 7.62%. So it's roughly prime plus 0.5 if we're going off prime rates. So you get that 5.99 and then the rate jumps to that 7.62. First Western Bank also has a 1-year intro at 6.08%, very close to the 5.99, and then it goes to as low as 6.75% or more afterwards. And then I found Capital Credit Union, just a straight 10-year HELOC. 6.99% was the lowest rate that was posted. And so that's right around, right at prime. That's about it for the state of North Dakota. I'm going to share my screen and just show you some of the other banks I found that might beat this, what I have on the board. But on their websites, they're not showing too much revealing information that I can go off of, so you would have to actually call them. All right, so Trail North, they've got 2 different HELOCs. Don't get confused, one's called the HELOC Boost and the other is the HELOC Special. The one I have on the board is the HELOC Special. That's what I would recommend my clients and my audience, you guys, to go with. Keeping the, the LTV under 80%. If you do the HELOC special, um, HELOC Boost, then you're probably going with a higher loan-to-value, and they go up to about 100%. First Western Bank, they also have their intro rate. Not too much information after that. Don't know the Draw period, closing costs— didn't see that information. Capital Credit Union here offers a HELOC. It was the only information I was able to pull, not that specific. Here's a bank called United Savings Credit Union that offers a HELOC, but not too much information for me to put on the board. Then we have Dakota Federal Credit Union also offers a HELOC, but not too much details as to what it entails. Not a lot of information on that, unfortunately. Northern Hills Federal Credit Union, another bank that does offer HELOC, but you have to call to get the information. So there's not too much details there. So those are the honorable mentions in terms of banks in the state of North Dakota. On the left-hand side of the board is our framework. Rely on this and you will get approved. Your chances of approval will increase dramatically to the point where it's in the bag, more than likely sealed. So you pair proper framework, pregame work, positioning prep work with good banks, good credit unions in your area. That still, despite me saying earlier that I did not find as many banks, 3 banks is still 3 banks in the state of North Dakota. And keep in mind, these rates are still far better than what you would get at a Wells Fargo, Chase, Bank of America, Citi, you know, all these other TD big banks for the most part. So I'm always gonna lean more towards local credit unions because they're gonna charge less with their fees. Typically most are no closing costs or very low closing, closing costs. Their rates are lower, better intro rates, just in my opinion better overall. So with that being said, we're going to continue this series where I go state by state. We're almost done, got a few more states left, and then that will close this entire series. This will live on the YouTube channel as a helpful guided tool for you to not only get your, your foundation in line, and then when you are ready to apply for the HELOC, you find the right bank. And this is going to accelerate your debt that much faster by getting better interest rates and better deals. You're able to consolidate debt faster, you're able to increase your cash flow faster, you're able to, you know, Build your credit score much faster and ultimately get us closer and closer to financial freedom and independence. My name is Denzel Rodriguez, your personal finance geek of the 21st century. It's been a pleasure having you on my channel. Please consider subscribing if you got value from this. And if you want coaching from me directly one-on-one, click the link below, visit my website, denzelrodriguez.com, take a look at my services and be happy to serve you and your family on a one-on-one basis. Have a wonderful day. God bless. Talk soon.