Second Mortgages
Take the equity. Keep the mortgage.
Refinancing replaces your entire loan — the rate, the term, all of it. A second mortgage does not. It sits quietly behind the loan you already have, which stays exactly as it is. If your first mortgage is one you would be sorry to lose, this is the conversation to have before anyone talks you into a refinance.
Who this is built for
Anyone holding a first mortgage worth protecting
If you locked something in years ago that you could not replace today, refinancing to reach your equity means giving it up on the whole balance. A second leaves it untouched.
People who need a specific amount for a specific thing
A renovation with a quote attached. A tuition bill. Paying off debt that costs far more than a mortgage does. This is a defined sum for a defined purpose, not a line to dip into.
Self-employed owners
There are four ways to document income here, and two of them never open a tax return.
Owners of second homes and rentals
Not just primary residences. The leverage tightens as you move away from where you live, but the door is open.
Holding a first mortgage you would rather not give up? That is the whole reason this product exists — and a short call settles whether the arithmetic agrees.
Talk it throughThe reputation belongs to a different product
Your first mortgage stays exactly as it is. You are adding to it — not replacing it.
Second mortgages carry a reputation earned by products that are not this one. Worth being specific about what is absent here, because each of these is a real expense on the alternatives.
And below four hundred thousand dollars an automated valuation will often stand in for a full appraisal, which removes both a cost and a week or two from the calendar. Above that, a full appraisal is ordered.
| Mortgage insurance | Not required | At any combined loan-to-value this program offers. A cash-out refinance above eighty percent generally cannot say that. |
| Prepayment penalty | None | Pay it off whenever you like, including out of a future refinance when the market turns. |
| Reserves, on a cash-out | None required | Taking cash asks for no money left in the bank afterward. A rate-and-term second asks for three months of payments. |
Automated valuations are accepted only from approved vendors within confidence thresholds set by the lender, and a full appraisal may still be required. Higher-priced mortgage loans require a full appraisal regardless of loan amount.
How it actually works
Four steps, and the first mortgage is untouched in all of them.
Your existing loan stays put
Same rate, same balance, same payoff date, same servicer. Nothing about it is renegotiated, and it keeps its place in line ahead of the new loan.
We size the second against your combined equity
Both loans are added together and measured against the value. Your credit score and how you use the property set the ceiling.
Income is documented — one of four ways
Full documentation, a single year of returns, a written verification of employment, or twelve to twenty-four months of bank statements. Unusual on a second lien, and it is why self-employed owners end up here.
You close with a fixed payment and a fixed end date
Fixed rate, with a choice of terms. You know the payment on day one and you know the day it stops.
What you can qualify for
Three programs publish three different ceilings, and the gaps between them are where these files get placed — each tab is one program’s own grid, never combined:
These are combined figures — your existing first mortgage and the new second added together, measured against the value of the property.
| Credit score | Primary residence | Second home | Investment property |
|---|---|---|---|
| 740 and above | 80% | 75% | 75% |
| 700 – 739 | 80% | 75% | 70% |
| 680 – 699 | 80% | 70% | 65% |
| 660 – 679 | 70% | Not available | Not available |
| 640 – 659 | 65% | Not available | Not available |
Loans run from $25,000 to $500,000 — that low floor matters, because most second mortgages will not bother below six figures. There is also a ceiling on everything combined: three million dollars across both liens on a primary residence, two million on a second home or an investment property, and investment borrowers are capped at ten financed properties. Documenting income with bank statements or a written verification rather than full documentation requires a 660 score. Where this grid reads “not available,” read it as this program’s answer rather than the last word — the fourth tab publishes rungs in every one of those cells, on a different program with its own rules. Debt-to-income runs to fifty percent, which is worth noting because unlike an investor loan, this one does look closely at what you earn.
Representative of one program’s matrix effective 08/01/2026. Combined loan-to-value tiers, credit minimums, income documentation and reserve requirements differ by lender and program and change without notice. Figures shown are maximums under stated conditions and are not available in combination with every other maximum. Available in Florida and a limited number of other states. Not all applicants or properties will qualify.
A second program prices its standalone seconds five points deeper on a primary residence, at a lower score than you’d guess. Its figures, never combined with the first grid:
| The file | Maximum combined loan-to-value | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Primary residence — to $250,000 | 85% | From a 680 score — five points above the first grid’s ceiling |
| Primary residence — $250,001 to $500,000 | 80% | From 720 |
| Second home — to $250,000 | 80% | From 720; 75% at 700, 70% at 680 |
| Investment — to $250,000 | 70% | From 700 |
The trade between the two grids is documentation against depth. The first program reads bank statements and written verifications; this one wants full documentation, underwritten to agency standards — and in exchange reaches 85% of combined value, holding that rung even with ratios up to fifty percent. Its guard rails are specific and worth knowing before you plan: the property must have been yours for at least twelve months, a cash-out taken against it in the last twelve months closes this door unless the combined figure stays at or under 75%, existing subordinate liens must be paid off through the new loan, and everyone on the first mortgage joins the second — with exceptions only for death, divorce or legal separation. Two-unit primaries have their own rows, and large acreage trims both the amount and the leverage. And one condition settles eligibility before any of the others are worth checking: this program does not lend in every state, and New York is one it excludes.
Representative of a second program’s stand-alone closed-end second product profile dated 07/17/2026. Full documentation per agency standards; ownership seasoning, prior-cash-out, subordinate-lien and borrower-matching conditions as stated in the source. Figures from different programs never combine. Maximum combined loan-to-value, credit score, loan amount and ratio limits are separate limits shown only in combinations that appear together in the source. That program publishes a list of states it does not lend in, and New York is on it. Not all applicants will qualify.
The deepest published rung on this page — and it reads self-employed income:
| The file | Maximum combined loan-to-value | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Primary residence | 90% | From a 700 score at the strongest band; 85% at 680, 80% at 660 |
| Second home | 85% | From 700 |
| Investment property | 80% | From 680 — a rental’s equity, reachable |
Income qualifies four ways here as well: full documentation, twelve months of bank statements, a preparer profit-and-loss at a slightly trimmed ceiling, or assets. No reserves are required, loans run $50,000 to $1,000,000, and an elite variant holds ninety percent even on a cash-out at the strongest scores, up to half a million. The honest caveats: leverage steps down as the loan grows — the strongest band is what you see above — a home bought or refinanced within the last six months gives up ten points, four years must separate the file from any major credit event, and Texas cash-outs cap at eighty. Between the three grids on this page, the real choice is documentation flexibility, depth, or both — and that is a ten-minute pricing exercise, not a guess.
Representative of a third program’s matrix effective 08/04/2026. Figures shown are the strongest loan-size band; leverage steps down as loan size increases. Figures from different programs never combine. Maximum combined loan-to-value, credit score, loan amount, documentation and seasoning requirements are separate limits shown only in combinations that appear together in the source. A valid Social Security number is required; unavailable in several states, including New York and Massachusetts. Not all applicants will qualify.
The first grid on this page stops at a 640 score and prints “not available” for a second home or an investment property below 680. That is one program’s answer, not the market’s — this grid publishes rungs in every one of those cells:
| The file | Maximum combined loan-to-value | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Primary residence — to $350,000 | 90% | From 700; 85% at 680, 80% at 660, and a rung at 70% from 640 |
| Primary residence — to $500,000 | 90% | From 720; 85% at 700, 80% at 680, 70% at 660 |
| Primary residence — to $750,000 | 80% | From 700; 75% at 680, 70% at 660 |
| Second home — to $350,000 | 80% | From 700; 75% at 680, 70% at 660 |
| Investment property — to $350,000 | 80% | From 700; 75% at 680, 70% at 660 |
| Primary residence — to $850,000 | 75% | From 720; 70% at 700 |
| Primary residence — to $1,000,000 | 65% | From 720; 60% at 700 |
Two things here are worth more than the leverage. The first is that a 660 score reaches seventy percent of combined value on a rental or a second home, where the opening grid on this page says the door is closed — it is closed on that program, and open on this one. The second is the ceiling: this program does not carry one flat combined cap, it scales the cap with the size of everything you owe — ninety percent of combined value while the two liens together stay under two million dollars, eighty-five under three, eighty under three and a half, seventy-five under four, and it still writes at sixty up to five million. Debt-to-income runs to fifty percent. The rows above are its full-documentation grid; a bank-statement and 1099 grid runs beside them on the same sheet, which I can price but have not published here. The last two rows are the price of the first: this grid keeps writing to a million dollars, it just asks for more equity as the number climbs. A second program reaches five points deeper still on a second home and on a rental at a 680 score — eighty percent of combined value to half a million — but it does not lend on a primary residence or a second home in New York, so for a New York owner that door is open on rentals only.† And a third program carries a second home and a rental all the way to a million, and will qualify a rental on its own rent rather than on your income — a standalone second underwritten the way an investor loan is, which almost nothing else on this shelf will do.‡
Representative of one program’s published matrix effective 08/11/2026 — its full-documentation closed-end second grid, combined loan-to-value by credit score and loan amount, purchase and rate-and-term. The maximum combined loan-to-value is additionally capped by the combined lien amount as described above, and the two caps apply together. Maximum debt-to-income 50%. Figures from different programs never combine. Combined loan-to-value, credit score and loan amount are separate limits shown only in combinations printed together in the source. That program’s matrices state no geographic limits, so state availability is confirmed per file. Not all applicants or properties will qualify.
† From a separate program’s published matrix effective 07/27/2026: 80% of combined value to $500,000 from a 680 credit score on a second home, and the same 80% to $500,000 from a 680 score on an investment property, with a 70% rung at 660 on both. That program does not lend on a primary residence or a second home in New York; investment property in New York is eligible. It also excludes second homes and investment property in Texas, and Baltimore City, Philadelphia and Hawaii lava zones everywhere. Figures from different programs never combine.
‡ From a third program’s published matrix effective 08/03/2026: 70% of combined value to $1,000,000 from a 720 credit score on a second home, and 65% to $1,000,000 from a 720 score on an investment property, with combined liens to $4,000,000. That program also prints a rent-qualified column for investment property — 75% of combined value to $350,000 from a 700 score, qualified on the property’s rent rather than the borrower’s income. Minimum loan $50,000. Figures from different programs never combine.
What you actually hand over
Income, one of four ways
Full documentation underwritten to agency standards, a single year of returns or W-2s, a written verification of employment, or twelve to twenty-four months of bank statements.
Your current mortgage statement
So the existing balance and terms can be verified. The loan must be current at closing and cannot be in forbearance.
Proof of homeowner’s insurance
Existing coverage is usually fine. Above a quarter of a million dollars the coverage amount has to meet a specific test against the value of the improvements.
A credit report
Full tri-merge, middle score. At most one thirty-day mortgage late in the past twelve months.
A valuation
An automated valuation in many cases under four hundred thousand dollars, a full appraisal above it.
Want the exact list for your file before you ever apply? Build your document checklist — the list changes with your answers, printable and yours to keep.
Where it wins — and when it is not the right loan
Six real disqualifiers, and the first one catches the most people.
Whatever rate and term you are holding stays exactly where it is. Nobody reprices the balance you already owe just because you needed access to equity.
A cash-out refinance above eighty percent generally cannot say that — which is a real, recurring expense avoided rather than a technicality.
One amount, one predictable payment, a date it is finished. That is a different instrument from a line of credit, and for some borrowers it is the safer one.
They do not stop in the same place, and the deepest published rung here also reads self-employed income — so the question is which grid fits your file, not whether one exists.
This is not that. A closed-end second is one lump sum with a fixed payment and a fixed end date. When people say "get a HELOC" they mean a revolving line you can borrow against, repay, and borrow against again. If that is what you want, this is the wrong product and you should say so early.
The loan in front has to be a regular mortgage. A HELOC still in its draw period disqualifies the file, and so do reverse mortgages, balloon loans, negative-amortization loans, interim construction loans, anything currently in forbearance or deferment, a partial claim from a loan modification, and a private mortgage opened within the last year.
Not eligible on this program — a valid Social Security number is required. That is a real limit and it is worth stating plainly, because both of those borrowers have other doors open to them here. It is this particular product that is closed.
That is the ceiling on the second itself, before the combined caps come into play at all.
This is income-qualified credit, and that is a hard line rather than a guideline. It is the main way this differs from the investor programs elsewhere on this site.
Title in an LLC, a corporation, a partnership, a land trust or an irrevocable trust is ineligible, as are non-occupying co-borrowers, guarantors, co-signers, and closing under a power of attorney.
Compare it against refinancing before you decide
The honest test is arithmetic. Work out what replacing your existing first mortgage would actually cost you across the whole balance, then compare that to carrying a smaller second alongside it. Often the answer is obvious once the numbers are side by side, and occasionally it goes the other way — which is worth knowing too.
Questions people actually ask
Open the full Q&A — the combined math, the valuation, and the fine points ▾
+Is this a HELOC?
No, and the difference matters. A HELOC is a revolving line — you draw, repay, and draw again, usually at a rate that moves. This is a closed-end second: one fixed sum, delivered at closing, with a fixed payment and a fixed end date. Many people asking for a HELOC actually want this, because they have one specific thing to pay for. Some genuinely want the line. Worth being honest with yourself about which.
+Will I lose the rate on my current mortgage?
No. That is the entire reason this product exists. Your first mortgage is not touched, renegotiated or repriced — the second simply sits behind it. If you are holding something you could not replace today, that is worth protecting.
+Do I have to pay mortgage insurance?
Not on this program, at any combined loan-to-value it offers. That is a genuine difference from a cash-out refinance, which often triggers it above eighty percent.
+Is there a prepayment penalty?
None. You can pay it off whenever you like, including out of a refinance later if rates move in your favor.
+I am self-employed. Can I use bank statements?
Yes — twelve or twenty-four months of them, which is uncommon on a second lien. A written verification of employment and a single year of returns also work. Documenting income any way other than full documentation requires a 660 credit score.
+Can I do this on a rental property?
Yes, and on a second home. The combined ceiling comes down as you move away from a primary residence, and investment borrowers are limited to ten financed properties.
+How small can it be?
Twenty-five thousand dollars. That floor is lower than most second-lien programs bother with, which makes this workable for a renovation or a debt payoff that would be too small to justify refinancing anything.
+Do I need a full appraisal?
Often not. Under four hundred thousand dollars an automated valuation from an approved vendor will frequently do, which saves both money and about a week. Above that, a full appraisal is ordered.
+I have an ITIN. Can I get one of these?
Not this product — it requires a valid Social Security number. That is a straight no rather than a maybe. It is not a no to borrowing, though: there is a separate ITIN program on this site for a primary residence, and a foreign national program for investment property.
Schedule a Consultation
Loan programs, explained honestly
Closed-end second mortgages are offered through third-party lenders and are subject to lender approval, full underwriting, and change without notice. Program parameters including combined loan-to-value tiers, credit minimums, income documentation, reserve and property requirements vary by lender and program and are not available in combination. Figures shown are maximums under stated conditions and reflect the cited programs’ current materials, each beside the table it supports. This product is a closed-end loan, not a home equity line of credit; funds are advanced once at closing and cannot be redrawn. Availability is limited to certain states, including Florida. Not all applicants or properties will qualify. This is not a commitment to lend. Equal Housing Opportunity.