Second Mortgage in Austin

Not when the rental is not your homestead. Article XVI, section 50 of the Texas Constitution limits liens on a homestead to a short list, and a lien outside that list is invalid. That list is where the Texas home equity rules come from: consent of each owner and spouse, an 80% cap on all homestead debt against value, a 2% fee cap with some exclusions, and foreclosure only by court order. They apply to the homestead, not to a rental that is not your homestead. The catch is that homestead status turns on use and intent, and title companies can treat a borrower's only Texas residential property as homestead by default, so expect occupancy to be confirmed, not assumed. A former residence you now rent out can still be your homestead until you acquire a new one or permanently abandon it. This is not legal advice; your attorney or title company has the final say on your property. See the second mortgage program page for terms.

The second can be wiped out, so position matters. Texas courts have held that foreclosure of a senior lien extinguishes junior liens, and Texas liens like this are usually foreclosed outside court, under the deed of trust's power of sale and the procedure in Property Code section 51.002: sales generally run on the first Tuesday of the month, after at least 21 days of notice. That is the risk a second lender prices into leverage, and it is why combined loan-to-value counts every lien. For you, it means a second only works if the first mortgage stays current. If you plan to refinance the first later, the second-lien holder generally has to sign a resubordination agreement so the new first keeps its position. Read lien position explained before you stack debt.

Texas draws the line at purpose. The state's secondary mortgage loan chapter (Finance Code chapter 342) applies to loans extended primarily for personal, family or household use, and the residential mortgage licensing chapters define a covered loan the same way. Whether a loan is business purpose depends on its facts, which is why we ask what the funds are for and whether you occupy the property. No Texas regulator guidance we found speaks to business-purpose seconds directly, so this is not a licensing opinion. Talk to your attorney about your own structure.

$25 for the first page and $4 for each additional page. A deed of trust that runs 12 pages records for $69 ($25 + 11 x $4), an illustration, not a quote for your documents. Travis, Williamson and Hays Counties publish the same schedule, because the base fee is set by statute and each county adds its own archive fee. Travis accepts paper filings in person or by mail, and lists authorized eRecording submitters under Local Government Code section 195.003, which the clerk describes as real time with immediate confirmation. Plan the recording step with your title company; in Texas a title or escrow company customarily runs the closing.

The full, unabated bill. Texas caps appraisal increases at 10% for homesteads only, so a rental gets no homestead cap or exemption. A separate 20% circuit breaker applies to qualifying non-homestead property, but it needs a full January through December of ownership and is authorized only through tax year 2026, so do not underwrite a 2027 hold assuming it survives. Talk to your CPA about your own numbers.

Advertised rent runs ahead of what landlords collect. Doorstead's listing data put Austin's median rent across all property types at $1,693 in July 2026, down 2.01% from a year earlier, with three-bedroom single-family homes at a median of $2,517. In the apartment market, as of June 2026, 73% of Austin metro units were advertising a concession, and occupancy sat around 86% to 88%. Those apartment readings do not describe single-family rentals, and no single-family vacancy figure was found, but they show why you should test your own rent roll at a lower number before you take on a second payment. A second lien adds debt behind the first. Subject to underwriting.