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Second Mortgage Calculator
Work out what a home equity loan would cost. Enter your home value, first mortgage balance, the amount you want to borrow, a rate and a term, then press Calculate to see the payment and your borrowing room.
Written by TopicDrill Editorial Team·Updated June 2026
Balance and interest over time
Balance left Interest paid
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How the second mortgage calculator works
The tool does two jobs. First it amortizes the amount you want to borrow over the term you choose, producing a level monthly payment and totaling the interest you would pay across the life of the loan. Second it checks whether you actually have the equity to borrow that much, by comparing your first mortgage balance plus the new loan against the lender's combined loan-to-value ceiling.
The chart tracks two lines as the years pass. The shaded area is the principal you still owe on the second mortgage, falling toward zero, while the dashed grey line is the interest you have handed over so far. Early on the balance barely moves because most of each payment is interest; later the lines cross as principal repayment speeds up.
A worked example
Say your home is worth 450,000 dollars with 260,000 dollars left on the first mortgage. At an 85 percent CLTV cap the lender will allow combined debt of 382,500 dollars, leaving 122,500 dollars of borrowing room. Borrow 50,000 dollars of that over 15 years at 8.5 percent and the payment is roughly 492 dollars a month, with around 38,600 dollars of interest over the full term.
Things to keep in mind
A second mortgage puts your home on the line, so a missed run of payments can lead to foreclosure just as a first mortgage can. Shop the rate, watch for closing costs the payment figure does not include, and read the consumer guidance from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau before signing. If you only need to know the payment on a single loan, our future value calculator can show what investing the cash instead might grow into.
Frequently asked questions
What is a second mortgage?
A second mortgage is a fixed-amount loan taken against the equity in a home you already own, on top of your existing first mortgage. It is repaid on its own amortization schedule and sits in second position, meaning the first mortgage lender is paid first if the home is ever sold under distress.
What does combined loan-to-value mean?
Combined loan-to-value, or CLTV, is the total of your first mortgage balance plus the new second mortgage, divided by the home's value. Lenders cap this figure, often around 80 to 90 percent, so the calculator shows your borrowing room and flags the request if it would push the CLTV past the limit you enter.
Why is the interest rate higher than my first mortgage?
Because a second mortgage is repaid only after the first in a forced sale, the lender takes on more risk and charges more to compensate. Rates are also usually fixed for the full term, so you trade a higher rate for a payment that does not move, unlike a variable home equity line of credit.
How is a second mortgage different from a HELOC?
A second mortgage, sometimes called a home equity loan, hands you a single lump sum at a fixed rate with level payments. A home equity line of credit instead works like a credit card against your equity, with a variable rate and a draw period. This calculator models the fixed lump-sum version.
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