I can't tell you how many time I visit people who are "upside down" in their mortgage. Loan officers make money by lending money. They use terms like "no cost" but how many people do you know who will work for free. What they do is to bump up the interest rate. This way they are able to sell the loan for more money and cover the expenses of making the loan. by virture of the fact interest is front loaded you are paying very little in terms of principle. In short, you need to be very careful about creating new debt. Please make additiional payments to principle and you can see how you can make amortization work in your favor.