Silent Second Mortgage

Filed Under »
Dictionary Says

Definition of 'Silent Second Mortgage'

A secondary mortgage placed on an asset that is not disclosed to the lender of the original loan. Silent second mortgages are used when a purchaser can't afford the down payment required by the initial mortgage. The mortgage is silent because the original lender is unaware of its presence. In many circumstances, a silent second mortgage is a type of fraud.
Investopedia Says

Investopedia explains 'Silent Second Mortgage'

When the original mortgage lender provides funds, the arrangement requires the borrower to provide a down payment. The fraud occurs when a second mortgage is used to fulfill the obligation of the down payment.

For example, let's say that you wish to purchase a house for $250,000. You have secured a mortgage for $200,000, which requires a down payment of $50,000. However, you can't acquire the necessary funds for the down payment, so you decide to take a silent second mortgage of $40,000. The original lender believes your down payment to be $50,000 when it is actually only $10,000 ($50,000 - $40,000). This increases the original lender's risk because a 4% decrease in the home's value ($10,000 / $250,000) will wipe out your equity, but the original lender believes you are covered up to a 20% decline in prices ($50,000 / $250,000)

Articles Of Interest

  1. Understanding Your Mortgage

    We walk through the steps needed to secure the best loan to finance the purchase of your home.
  2. Mortgages: How Much Can You Afford?

    Answering this means number-crunching as well as factoring in other considerations and expenses.
  3. Make A Risk-Based Mortgage Decision

    Find out how to choose which mortgage style is right for you.
  4. 4 Steps To Attaining A Mortgage

    It starts with knowing your choices as well as your price range. We show you how to get there.
  5. How Interest Rates Affect The Housing Market

    Understand how rate changes can affect home prices, and learn how you can keep up.
  6. 6 Tips For Selling Your Home Fast

    Find out what you can do to stand out from the competition and make your home an easy sell.
  7. 5 Smart Ways To Use Your Tax Return

    This year, find out how to stretch your tax refund further to strengthen your future.
  8. Common Liabilities That Hurt Your Net Worth

    Every penny that you keep out of the liability side of the net worth equation essentially ends up on the asset side.
  9. The Dangers Of A Reverse Mortgage

    In many circumstances, a reverse mortgage can be a risk to your financial security. Here are six dangers you should consider before signing on the bottom line.
  10. Automatic Cancellation Of PMI When You're Underwater On Your Mortgage

    You might be suprised to learn that after reaching certain criteria, your PMI will be automatically cancelled.
comments powered by Disqus
Marketplace
Hot Definitions
  1. Xenocurrency

    A currency that trades in markets outside of its domestic borders.
  2. Wanton Disregard

    A standard of severe negligence. Wanton disregard is a very serious accusation that indicates that a person behaved extremely recklessly.
  3. Ultra ETF

    A class of exchange-traded funds (ETF) that employs leverage in an effort to achieve double the return of a set benchmark.
  4. Toehold Purchase

    A purchase of less than 5% of a target company's outstanding stockmade by an acquiring company. A toehold purchase of just under 5%, while not a significant stake in a firm, allows the shareholders a "toe-holds" grip on the company and its decision making.
  5. Samurai Bond

    A yen-denominated bond issued in Tokyo by a non-Japanese company and subject to Japanese regulations.
  6. Chartalism

    A non-mainstream theory of money that emphasizes the impact of government policies and activities on the value of money.
Trading Center