So why get a second mortgage? Well, there are all sorts of reasons that you might want to free up the equity locked up in your home. You might not have considered that you could use a second mortgage to pay for so many different things, but in practice most second mortgage providers are not overly concerned what you decide to spend your money on.

Most people use the money to consolidate their other debts, which can be a good move – as long as you then resolve to keep that as the only debt you have.

Another common reason to get a second mortgage is to finance home improvements and increase the value of your property still further. This can be a risky move, but if you know what you’re doing, it pays off. Taking out a second mortgage to do something like build a conservatory is generally quite stupid, as they are unlikely to make back anywhere near what you paid for them. Wooden floors and second bathrooms, on the other hand, are always sound investments if they are not already present.

Of course, if you’re planning to invest the money, there’s nothing to say that you have to invest it in your own home. Some daring souls take the money and plough it into the stock market, or invest in starting up a business. The risk of failure is massive in such ventures, but if you pull it off, you’ll be doing really well.

On the whole, it isn’t such a great idea to use a second mortgage to take money that you have no way to recoup. If you spend it on a car, for example, you have no way of getting all the money back, as cars lose massive amounts of value the second you drive them out of the dealership. This is even more true for holidays, and college or university tuition.