{"id":11312,"date":"2023-10-30T05:00:21","date_gmt":"2023-10-30T12:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=11312"},"modified":"2025-01-28T10:09:04","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T18:09:04","slug":"how-to-sell-a-house-with-a-second-mortgage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/how-to-sell-a-house-with-a-second-mortgage\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Sell a House With a Second Mortgage or Home Equity Loan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you have a <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/personal-finance\/article\/second-mortgage\/\">second mortgage<\/a> on your house and you\u2019re thinking of selling, you probably have some concerns. After all, it can feel daunting to sell your house before it\u2019s paid off.<\/p>\n<p>However, it\u2019s actually quite common to sell your home before it\u2019s paid off.<\/p>\n<p>According to FreddieMac, The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is preferred by almost <a href=\"https:\/\/myhome.freddiemac.com\/buying\/finding-the-right-loan\">90% of homebuyers<\/a> due to its combination of affordability and flexibility, making it the top choice. In Q1 2023, homeowners who sold their homes had an average ownership duration of 5.59 years, a decrease from 5.81 years in Q4 2022 and 5.68 years in Q1 2022\u2014reaching the lowest point since mid-2011, as reported by ATTOM. The report highlighted a decline in average <a href=\"https:\/\/www.attomdata.com\/news\/market-trends\/figuresfriday\/top-10-u-s-metros-where-homeownership-tenure-is-increasing\/#:~:text=Also%2C%20according%20to,with%20sufficient%20data.\">tenure for 56% of metro areas<\/a> compared to the same period in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>So, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/sell-home-with-mortgage\/\">selling your house with one mortgage<\/a> still in repayment is the norm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"geo-cta widget-cta widget-cta--content     widget-cta--dark widget-cta--dark-blue-gradient\">\n    <div class=\"widget-element--content\">\n        <div class=\"widget-element--content-header\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"homelight logo\" class=\"widget-element--logo\" src=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/ccprototypev5\/images\/logo-small-cta.png\" width=\"106\" height=\"25\" \/>\n        <\/div>\n        \n                <h3 class=\"cta-headline widget--bold\">What's Your Home Worth?<\/h3>\n                        <p>Request an instant home value estimate to for a ballpark estimation of how much equity you have before selling a house with a mortgage.<\/p>\n        \n                <div class=\"widget-element--buttons\">\n            <a data-type=\"In Content CTA\" href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/home-value-estimator\" class=\"cta-click-track widget-element--button\">Get Estimate<\/a>\n        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>What if you took out a second mortgage? Don\u2019t worry. Taking out a second mortgage is also pretty common, and it can be a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/personal-finance\/article\/what-is-a-second-mortgage-17854815.php#:~:text=How%20does%20a%20second%20mortgage%20work%3F\">smart move<\/a> if you want to secure money for a remodel, buy a new home, or access extra cash at a relatively low rate.<\/p>\n<p>So, can you sell your house with a <a href=\"https:\/\/money.usnews.com\/loans\/mortgages\/home-equity-lenders\">home equity loan<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/usmortgage.com\/second-mortgage\/\">second mortgage<\/a>? The short answer is: \u201cyes.\u201d Whether you have a home equity loan or another type of second mortgage, it shouldn\u2019t stop you from selling your house.<\/p>\n<p>Still, if you\u2019re worried about triggering penalties, having low equity, potential housing crashes, or being stuck with a post-sale bill you can\u2019t afford, read on. We\u2019ve pinned down advice from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/find-real-estate-agents\/buying\">top real estate experts<\/a> that show you how to sell a house with a second mortgage.<\/p>\n<div id=\"section--1\" data-toc-header=\"What is a second mortgage?\" data-toc-type=\"head\"><\/div>\n<h2>What is a second mortgage?<\/h2>\n<p>A second mortgage is a loan secured against a property that already has a mortgage. Some homeowners take out a second mortgage to help with a down payment, while others use a second mortgage to tap into their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/what-is-home-equity\/\">home\u2019s equity<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Home equity is the portion of your home you own, while your lender owns the part you haven&#8217;t fully paid for. In line with findings from a report by Black Knight, the average<a href=\"https:\/\/www.blackknightinc.com\/data-reports\/august-2023-mortgage-monitor\/#:~:text=The%20average%20mortgage%20holder%20has%20some%20%24199K%20in%20tappable%20equity%20available%20to%20them%3B%20down%20somewhat%20from%202022%E2%80%99s%20historic%20highs%20but%20still%20a%20historically%20large%20amount%20regardless.%20In\"> mortgage holder has around $199K<\/a> in accessible equity.<\/p>\n<p>Although this represents a decrease from the historic highs observed in 2022, it remains a substantial amount from a historical perspective. This available cash can significantly help with buying a new home, improving your current one, or pursuing other opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s more, a second mortgage\u2019s interest rate is usually lower than a credit card, making it a relatively inexpensive way to borrow money. Just know that when you tap into your home equity, you put your house up as collateral. That means your lender can repossess your house if you stop making payments.<\/p>\n<div id=\"section--2\" data-toc-header=\"Home equity loans vs. HELOC\" data-toc-type=\"head\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Selling a house with a second mortgage is fairly common. This guide will explain what you need to know to help make the process go smoothly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":324,"featured_media":38842,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[343,322],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finances","category-logistics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.0 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Sell a House With a Second Mortgage in 6 Steps<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Selling a house with a second mortgage is fairly common. This guide will explain what you need to know to help make the process go smoothly.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/how-to-sell-a-house-with-a-second-mortgage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Sell a House With a Second Mortgage or Home Equity Loan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Selling a house with a second mortgage is fairly common. This guide will explain what you need to know to help make the process go smoothly.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/how-to-sell-a-house-with-a-second-mortgage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"HomeLight Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-30T12:00:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-28T18:09:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hl-blog.homelight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/How-to-Sell-a-House-With-a-Second-Mortgage-in-6-Steps-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"563\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"McCoy Worthington\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@gohomelight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gohomelight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"McCoy Worthington\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"11 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Sell a House With a Second Mortgage in 6 Steps","description":"Selling a house with a second mortgage is fairly common. 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