Second Mortgage in Beaumont

No, if the rental is not your homestead. Article XVI, section 50 of the Texas Constitution permits liens on a homestead only for a closed list of debts, and the home equity rules on that list (consent of each owner and spouse, total homestead debt capped at 80% of value, a 2% fee cap with exclusions, foreclosure only by court order) protect the homestead. A rental you do not live in falls outside them, and a second lien on it is an ordinary deed-of-trust lien. Homestead 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 checked, not assumed. This is not legal advice; your attorney or title company has the final say. Terms are on the second mortgage program page, and the Texas investment property second mortgage guide goes deeper.

In the county where the property sits: Jefferson, Hardin or Orange. Beaumont, Port Arthur, Nederland, Groves and Port Neches are in Jefferson County; Lumberton is in Hardin County; Vidor and Bridge City are in Orange County, Texas. Jefferson's 2026 sheet charges $25.00 for the first page ($5.00 filing, $10.00 records management, $10.00 archive) and $4.00 for each additional page, and a missing grantee mailing address adds $25.00 under Property Code section 11.003. As an illustration only, a 6-page deed of trust with no riders comes to $25 + (5 x $4) = $45. Jefferson accepts eRecording through CSC, eRecording Partners Network, Hopdox, Indecomm Global Services and Simplifile, for filers allowed under Local Government Code section 195.003. Hardin accepts eRecording through CSC; its fee chart shows $25.00 and $4.00 but carries no 2026 date. Orange's fee sheet effective January 1, 2024 shows the same two figures, requires the trustee or beneficiary address on a deed of trust, and calls for original signatures and an original notary acknowledgment. We did not find any Orange County page that mentions eRecording, so ask the clerk or your title company. County fees are not USAM terms.

On the first Tuesday of the month at the courthouse, and a first-lien sale can wipe out the second. Property Code section 51.002 sets sales as public auctions between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on the first Tuesday, with at least 21 days of notice. In Jefferson County the substitute trustee runs the sale and the clerk has no involvement beyond the records; the clerk's page puts the sale at the "most northerly door of the new addition to the County Courthouse," under a 1982 Commissioners Court resolution, and notices can be searched on the clerk's Official Records site under Foreclosures. We did not find where Hardin or Orange County sales are held, so check the notice. The Texas Supreme Court has held that foreclosure of a senior lien extinguishes inferior liens, so a second only holds its value while the first stays current, which is why combined loan-to-value counts every lien. See lien position explained.

Yes: a short-term rental permit. Section 28.04.009 of Beaumont's Code of Ordinances covers rentals of fewer than 30 consecutive days. The permit number must appear in the listing, a hotel occupancy tax certificate is required, permits renew annually, and listing without one is subject to fine. Short-term rentals are eligible for our second mortgage, but we did not verify a permit fee, a density cap, an owner-occupancy rule, or who can hold the permit if the property is in an LLC, so confirm those with the city. We also did not verify the short-term rental rules in Port Arthur, Nederland, Groves or Port Neches.

Texas decides that by purpose. Finance Code chapter 342, the secondary mortgage loan chapter, covers a loan only if, among other conditions, it is extended primarily for personal, family or household use, and the residential mortgage licensing chapters use the same test. We found no Texas regulator guidance on business-purpose seconds specifically, so this describes the statutes and is not a licensing opinion. Talk to your attorney about your own structure.

The full investor rate, with no homestead relief. On Jefferson Central Appraisal District's 2025 combined tables, the rate per $100 of assessed value is 2.303981 inside Beaumont, 2.810110 inside Port Arthur and 2.087155 inside Nederland, which is about 2.30%, 2.81% and 2.09%. Those figures do not apply to Hardin County (Lumberton) or Orange County (Vidor, Bridge City), which publish their own rates. Size the second against the parcel's actual tax stack, and run the payment side with the second mortgage calculator. Talk to your CPA about your own figures.