Glossary
Second mortgage
A loan secured against property that already secures another lender, ranking behind them. Faster and looser than bank money, and priced accordingly.
In plain English
A second mortgage sits behind an existing first mortgage on the same property. If things go wrong, the first lender is paid out before the second sees anything, and that extra risk is priced in: materially higher rates, shorter terms, and often pressure to refinance quickly.
Second mortgages exist for genuine reasons, speed, or borrowing the first lender will not extend. The recurring problem is businesses reaching for one because their file could not pass a bank, when the file, presented properly, could have.
Why a lender cares
We have watched clients offered an expensive second mortgage repayable within 12 months when their actual numbers, built into a proper servicing case, supported a mainstream facility over 15 years at a fraction of the cost. The difference was not the business; it was the file. Before accepting expensive money, it is worth knowing what the numbers really support.
Reading up because a deal or a facility is on the table? One call with Nicholas gets you a straight read on your numbers, free.
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