My company laid every one off.  I got a new position with my company in a different state and will take a 10K cut in pay.  I have one duplex and my current residence.  Im trying to keep my cost low so if I cant rent my current residence I can still cover all my bills.  My duplex is worth 175K - 165K I owe 100K on it.  My duplex loan is for 130K and I pay $890 per month that includes my property tax of $2150 and insurance of $624 a year my duplex doesn't make money it just breaks even (I've never had a problem renting it out). My current residence is worth 115K and I owe 75K on it.  My current residence loan is for 100K and I pay $580 a month that includes my property tax of $856 and insurance of $872 a year.  Total mortgage payment $1470 per month. If I refinance my duplex for 165K and put 10K out of pocket and pay off my current residence my payment will be $1120 per month at 5% interest that will save me $354 a month.  Should I do this and is there any benefit to having the home paid off that I'm missing? if I do this and everything goes bad is there a way to protect the house that is paid off? Do you see any thing I haven't considered or should consider?