Should You Refinance or Get a Second Mortgage?

If you're like many people these days, you may beequity in your home.
considering options for taking additional money out ofIf you are up against the ropes and simply need the
your home and have begun to look at cash-outmoney as soon as possible, getting a second
refinancing and second mortgages. You may bemortgage may be a better option. While many
wondering how they compare and which option is bestcash-out refinances require more processing, such as
for your personal financial situation.appraisals, underwriting and title searches, which can
A cash-out refinance is when you obtain a newtake some time to complete, most second mortgages
mortgage in order to get a sum of money out of yourdon't require as much processing, which cuts a lot of
equity. You can also refinance in order to obtain bettertime out of the process.
terms, such as a lower interest rate, on your currentThere are many more factors that should be involved
mortgage. The process of any type of refinancingin your decision of whether to get a second mortgage
involves paying off your current mortgage and startingor do a cash-out refinance. These include such things
over with a new mortgage.as how long you plan to own the home, the balance
A second mortgage is just what it sounds like. It is aon your mortgage, the amount of money you want to
second mortgage that is taken out against your home,take out, and the past, present and expected future
in addition to your first mortgage. When you have avalue of your home.
second mortgage, you have two separate mortgageIf you don't have a broker that you trust very well, be
payments, sometimes with different mortgagecareful of using their advice as your sole source of
companies. The second mortgage is subordinate toinformation on this decision, as there certainly are
the first mortgage. The interest rate is generally higherdangers to refinancing. A cash-out refinance of your
on second mortgage because there is more risk to theentire mortgage of $300,000 will involve the broker
lender. If you default on your mortgages, the first loanearning more money than on a second mortgage of
gets paid off first. There are such things as third and$25,000. Your broker may steer you toward the option
even fourth mortgages, but they aren't very common.that will earn them more money rather than the option
Just as the second mortgage is subordinate to thethat is best for you in the long run.
first, the third is subordinate to the second and so on.In order to help determine which option is the best for
The increasing risk on the part of the lender results inyour personal financial situation and your cash needs,
higher interest rates for you.there are second mortgage vs. cash-out refinance
You may be wondering what things you should takecalculators online that are designed to help you make a
into consideration when you are deciding between adecision.
cash-out refinance and a second mortgage.Just by doing a little bit of homework on your options
Consider the current interest rate situation inand their future impact, you will be able to guide the
comparison to your current mortgage. If for exampleprocess much better when you do sit down with a
you have a fixed rate mortgage at a low rate, youmortgage professional.
shouldn't refinance at a higher rate just to access the