In a previous thread I laid out my case study. My biggest issue is mortgage debt and the recommendation of the group is for me to pay down my 2nd mortgage as quickly as possible. I also want to tackle my main mortgage.
https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/case-study-help-me-tackle-debt-and-build-plan-for-future/msg232331Situation recap:
$203k 1st mortgage - 25 years left to go, 4 7/8% rate ~ $1,750 monthly payment ($335 Prin / $590 Escrow / $825 intrest)
$34k 2nd mortgage - 11 years left, 8 1/8% rate ~ $300 monthly payment ($230 interest / $70 principal)
I have enough cash now to pay off the 2nd mortgage and keep a comfortable cash cushion in savings.
I would like to make progress on paying down 1st as well but don't know best way to go about doing it. I would love to Refi into a 15 year at a lower rate but the issue is my home value. I don't know where an appraisal would come in and I don't want to go through the Refi process only to get a low appraisal. Value is ~$180k on Zillow and could be upwards of $200k since my house is much more updated than many of the comps.
Any suggestions on how to go about attacking my mortgage debt? I have heard of the following:
1) pay extra with my normal monthly payment
2) join a plan to do multiple payments each month to pay down principal faster
3) pay down a chunk and recast
4) Refi, but could mean bringing $60k to closing which i am not willing to do right now (assuming a worst case valuation of $180k and 20% down)