Lien on property / want to refinance

[David Gonzalez]

Hello BP members! I have a question regarding refinancing a home with a lien on it. It's a long story but I will make it short. My father took out a second mortgage on our primary home before the financial crisis ( not sure why, I was only 13 years old at the time) fast forward today, he is looking to refinance our home but we were told our monthly payments would go from 2750 to 2450 but he has to pay the second mortgage which has a balance of 38,000. The bank negotiated the loan which originally had a balance of 158,000. My question is , is it a good idea to pay the 38,000 to bring down the payment from 2700 to 2450?

[Account Closed]

It would take 152 months (or 12.7 years!) at the lower mortgage payment to equal $38,000 (not factoring interest) lump sum payment. 

I agree with @Jonathan Towell, less personal debt the better. So the question for me is, does pops plan to pay off his home? If so, I'd pay the $38k and be done with it, but not because I'm saving $250/month. 

If he doesn't plan to pay off the house any sooner than his 30 yr fixed or he needs that $250/month, then might as well roll in the $38k into the new mortgage.

Personally, I don't like bills so I'd pay the $38k because I'd be working towards paying off my house.