Depends on the lender.  It use to be wher you could.  You must of got a really good deal if you are trying to pull money out for home repairs.

Do check with your loan officer.  Most lenders want you to be on title for at least 12 months before you can start taking advantage of equity you have in the property.

Anonymous:

I just bought my first home and would like to make repairs can i get a 2nd mortgage even if i just bought the home?

The 2nd completely depends on which state you live in and how much you put down for your purchase.  Some states like California, where I'm located, have had a bigger loss of home values and thus, lenders in California have scaled back the total maximum financing allowed.  If you wanted a Equity Line in California, you would be limited to a maximum financing of 80% of your home value.  I have a couple lenders that could do this with a rate at a little over prime, which is currently at 4.00%, at no cost.  

You could also get an FHA 203K loan that is a construction/rehab loan.  This would replace your current loan.  Since rates dropped to almost historic lows last week, this loan could make sense not only to get construction costs financed, but to also lower your rate.  This loan amount would be structured with the payoff of your current 1st + proposed construction costs + permits & fee's + 10%-20% contigency reserve.  The appraised value will not be based on your current value, but the projected value of your home after construction is complete.  One major thing to be aware of is that you would need to finish your construction/repairs within 6 months.

Please contact me if you have any questions on these programs and I would be more than happy to answer them.

The streamline 203(k) might work well if the repairs are less than 35k and nothing structural is being repaired. The streamline program is much less complex and that regular 203(k) too.