These two terms seem to be confusing some people. Some people seem to think they are the same thing. They are not. The terms describe different attributes of the mortgage loan. Note, a mortgage loan can be both a home equity loan and a second mortgage.
Home equity loan is a term that describes the mortgage loan on the basis of how the loan is qualified. Basically, a home equity loan is a mortgage loan that is qualified mainly based on how much equity is in the home as opposed to the credit history or the reported income of the applicant.
A second mortgage describes a mortgage based on the priority the lender have on your property. A second mortgage would mean that the lender of this mortgage has dibs on your property after the first mortgage holder. In a foreclosure situation, the first mortgage holder would get all his money back before the second mortgage holder can recover his money. Because of this added risk, the second mortgage rate is always higher than the first.
So based on the above explanation, it should be understandable that a home equity loan can be a first mortgage or a second mortgage. Also there are second mortgages that are not home equity loans, as some lenders will use the traditional credit and income to qualify a second mortgage. I hope this clears thing up.
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