I thought I had this straight but when I was looking at this loan I got confused. This loan is a refinance of a previous loan that was for home improvement and was reported as a HI loan secured by the home. This loan is stated to be a refinance of the previous HI loan with additional funds advanced secured by the same home. The additional funds were used by the borrower to pay real estate taxes. My understanding of the definition of "refinance" for HMDA is that purpose does not matter, what matters is whether the original and the new loan are both secured by a dwelling, which in this case it is. It also states the use of the new money is not relevant unless the new money is to be used for HI or purchase which would then change the reporting from refi to HI or purchase. But since this loan started out being classified as a HI loan, wouldn't we still report it as a HI loan and not a refinance?

It's just a refi.

We're all into the overthinking, overanalyzing, second-guessing phase of HMDA, aren't we?!

I agree - it is a refinance. The original purpose doesn't matter and your cash out doesn't matter because it's not going towards more home improvements.

I'll make it 3 for 3 - it's a refinance.

Great minds thinking alike! Thank you all, I had to go back and relook at the definition and read where it states that purpose does not matter. So I'm with you and refinance it is. Appreciate your help.