Here is the shape of it for a Texas homeowner who wants to keep the first mortgage. Your file still has to pass review.
A cash-out refinance replaces your first mortgage. A HELOC or home equity loan is built so the first mortgage can stay. Same goal — use equity — and two very different loans.
HELOC or home equity loan
Cash-out refinance
If you want a sketch of a brand-new first-mortgage payment, the refinance calculator is a starting point. Bring the real mortgage statement before you decide. A calculator cannot approve a loan or promise a lower payment.
A low rate on the loan you already have is worth protecting. Cash-out refinancing asks you to give that rate up. Today’s rate would land on everything — the balance you already owe and the cash you take out. With a HELOC, your existing first mortgage can stay in place, and the new financing applies only to the equity you access. The new rate, whatever it is when we lock or draw, applies to the equity portion.
This is why the call exists. It is not a promise that a HELOC will cost less, save money, or fit the house. Some files are better as a cash-out refinance. Some are better untouched.
Home improvements, debt consolidation, and major expenses are the three reasons I hear most from Texas homeowners. The loan still has to make sense after the money is spent.
Equity, credit, income, and the property. Those four decide whether a Texas HELOC or home equity loan is even a candidate. Approval is a later step, after the full file is reviewed.
Texas generally allows only one home equity loan on the homestead at a time, and the rules live in the state constitution — which is why this feels stricter than a second mortgage you may have seen in another state. I will walk through what applies to your property. Approval comes only after the full file is reviewed.
I focus on Texas homeowners, especially in Central Texas. If your house is in Whitney, Hill County, Waco, Hillsboro, Cleburne, or Granbury, you are in the middle of the map I work every week. If it is anywhere else in Texas, I can still help. The homestead rules follow the property, and the licensing covers the state.
The questions Texas homeowners ask before they touch a first mortgage they like. Straight answers, including the parts that slow the process down.
Mortgage Broker
Call, apply online, or send a note about the home and the first mortgage. A conversation is a look at the file. It is not an approval, a rate quote, or a figure for how much equity you can access.
Share the city, what you would use the equity for, and whether you want to keep your first mortgage. Starred fields are required.
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I will follow up about your home equity question. Sending this note does not apply for a loan or approve one.
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Submitting this form does not trigger a credit pull, lock a rate, or promise an equity amount.
Krissi Ebbens, Mortgage Broker. Ebbens & Co Mortgage Group powered by Xpert Home Lending. Texas home equity, purchase, and refinance conversations — without the runaround.
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This is not a commitment to lend. Any rates, payment figures, or examples shown on this site are illustrative only and may not include Annual Percentage Rate (APR). Actual rates and APR vary based on credit, loan program, property, and other factors, and may change without notice. Contact us for a personalized quote.