A second mortgage can be just the answer you are looking for in times of emergency or when you need a large amount of money at once, such as when you are building an addition onto your home. However, second mortgages also come with their own risks. The biggest one of course, is that you are putting your home on the line should you not be able to afford to pay back the loan in the future. To make sure that you don't get into a situation you cant get out of, here are a few tips to keep in mind when you are considering whether or not a second mortgage is for you.

Just like first mortgages, second mortgages can come with some pretty hefty prepayment fees; and just like with a first mortgage, you want to avoid these as much as possible. don't get that locks you in or that has too high a fee. Again, your home is in jeopardy should you not be able to pay it off. And your lender shouldn't penalise you too much for just wanting to honour your debt.

To over come these hurdles, you need funds which you can acquire by method of financing, used by companies before their IPO, to obtain necessary cash for the maintenance of operations called bridging finance. These funds are usually supplied by the investment bank underwriting the new issue. As payment, the company acquiring the bridge financing will give a number of shares at a discount of the issue price to the underwriters that equally offsets the loan. This financing is, in essence, a forwarded payment for the future sales of the new issue.

Another way to keep your costs down with a second mortgage is by making sure that yours doesn't include a voluntary insurance policy in the contract if you don't need it. Check with your home insurance broker first and see if you are already covered for what the voluntary insurance will protect. The chances are good that you already are, and that you don't need to pay for this insurance yet.

With second mortgage its especially important that you beware of any mortgage packages that seem too good to be true. Sometimes lenders advertise great second mortgage packages, with an extremely low monthly payment, and the homeowner finds out later that theres a huge balloon payment due at the end of it. While this is sometimes a good option for homeowners, its also often one that can lead to even more financial trouble when that large balloon amount becomes due. Make sure you know exactly how your payments will be set up, if they will increase or decrease at any time (other than when you are using an ARP,) and make sure that you can afford them.

Above all, use a mortgage broker for any mortgage that you are applying for, but especially when you are applying for a second mortgage. These can be more difficult deals to sort through and most importantly, you will need someone that can shop around for you and see which lenders are offering what packages.
Too often homeowners think that they need to obtain their second mortgage from the same lender that holds their primary mortgage, but thats often not the case. At times the primary mortgage lender may offer a discount for holding both mortgages, but it can also save you a lot of money to go to a different lender. A mortgage broker will be able to sort that, and everything else related to your second mortgage, out for you.

Author's Bio: 

Author talks more about short term finance first and second mortgage loans over property to bridge the need for rapid capital to settle that new investment property, business investment purpose, buying stock for your business, mezzanine capital, settling the finance balance of your completed development or for any other business or investment related purpose.