High FICO Score, Need HEL or HELOC on New Purchase

We are first time buyers closing on a home next week (NY). The house needs some work and we have decided to do a lot of this at the outset, instead of in stages as originally planned. Some of the larger banks (including the one handling our mortgage) require that a person be in their home for 6 months to 1 year before they can apply for an equity loan or line-of-credit; other entities will make loans right away as long as there is sufficient equity available. Here are the basics of our situation...the lender appraisal on our property came it at 552k, the purchase price was 525k and our mortage is 420k. We have a high FICO score (770 range), and good income and assets. We are looking for a HEL or HELOC with a CLTV of at least 90% (if based on the lender appraisal) or 95% if based on the purchase price. As a starting point we contacted 'Lending Tree' who confirmed they did have loans available that met our parameters (required CLTV and loan could be made immediately after closing), but after reading online reviews of Lending Tree we thought we should explore other options. We are hoping this forum might be a good resource for locating potential lenders; any suggestions or input would be greatly appreciated.