When considering refinancing your home there are a number of important questions homeowners need to answer. Why refinance a home loan? Is this a good time to refinance? Where should you go to refinance your home loan?

Why refinance a home loan? If your able to make your current mortgage payment with little struggle there may be no reason to refinance. If you have other obligations you are struggling to meet lowering your mortgage payment by $100 or more a month may free up needed funds.

Is this a good time to refinance? Timing when refinancing is half the battle. If rates offered are well below the rates you are currently paying you would do well to consider refinancing.

Where should you go to refinance your home loan? As a rule it is usually best to contact your current lender for a mortgage rate quote. Likely you will be quoted a rate that is less than competitive when compare to rate quotes offered by online lending marketplaces who are competing for your business. Therefore is it best to get quotes from these marketplaces in writing and ask your current lender to meet or beat the lowest of the quotes.

Before filling out the online rate quote forms or contacting your current lender you’ll need to determine the real purpose of the loan. Answer the following questions to determine the purpose of refinancing your home loan.

1. Are you seeking to lower your monthly payments?

2. Do you want to consolidate debt?

3. Need cash for large purchases?

4. Are you seeking to adjust your interest deduction expense for tax purposes?

Having established the purpose for refinancing consider how much loan you truly can afford and the amount you wish to save when refinancing your home. If cash is needed for major purchases or investment determine the minimum amount that will accomplish your purpose vs how much you wish to save when refinancing.

Cash-Out Refinance Loan Programs

Lenders are currently offering several loan programs to fit the need for lower rates and cash for major purposes. A cash-out refinance loan provides you with both options in one loan. Compare rates along with interest, tax and insurance to help you determine the total amount of interest paid when paying off the loan.

Home Mortgage Rates

Even if rates are less than 1% you may still see a significant savings when refinancing. For example, the monthly payment (excluding taxes & insurance) on a $100,000 loan at 8.0% would be $ 733.76. If the rate were lowered to 7.1%, the monthly payment would be about 672.03. An annual savings of $732. Using the loan payment calculator at [http://www.bcpl.net/~ibcnet/]mortgage-calculator.html.

Shopping For Bargain Rates

Definitely contact multiple lending institutions for competitive home mortgage loan refinancing rates. A good place to start is with your current lender/mortgage company. Get a written rate quote and then compare them to the quotes from other lending marketplaces. These marketplaces feature a rate quote form that can be submitted to up to four lenders at a time.

Once you’ve filled out the form and submit it lenders will begin calling you offering you a competitive loan rate quote. When speaking to each lender remember to ask them to provide a couple of refinancing scenarios showing how your loan term length, monthly payment and your total interest expense on the loan will change.

Determine Feasibility

After looking at these scenarios, determine whether or not you should spend the money to refinance. If you determine that it is still feasible to get a loan go to your current lender with the lowest rate quotes from the lending marketplace and ask your lender to meet or beat the lowest rate.

Most lenders want to know if someone made you a better offer so take advantage of the competitive sensation by mentioning a lenders lower rate offer to the lender offering the most attractive loan package. Responding to each call and offer using this method is sure to get you’re the loan at the desired rate and much needed cash to pocket and use as needed.

By: Mark A. Askew

Investing to make it work

Paying off the mortgage was always thought to be one of those defining moments. As it turns out it is defining. Unfortunately, the moment is not the one you may have thought about originally. Paying off your mortgage means that you let the bank take advantage of your money. Instead, think about home loan refinance and saving some money meant for the bank. This option lets you use your money to fullest advantage instead of letting the bank use it to theirs. This kind of refinance can make your life easier to deal with by paying down all those high interest rates.

Pulling it all together

One way or the other that roof is going to need to be upgraded. There is little that can be done about that. Junior needs to go to college somehow. Costs are a killer but somehow he needs to get there through a series of scholarships, matches, loans and what not. Mom’s care needs to be addressed as well, in one form or another. The bills are and will be coming from everywhere. A home loan refinance program may be just the ticket to pull everything together. A refinance program would mean lower or nonexistent bills.

Is now the time

Whether you opt for this type of option at this point in time is really a life and regional choice. If your plans entail staying in the same home for the longer term it is the perfect time to consider a home loan refinance option. Rates are being reset so a solid indication of where they will be for an extended period is available.

Prices have begun to fall on homes but they have yet to go anywhere near where they could have gone considering the situation. If you are sticking around for a while the values will come back in a few years, so this program should be ok at this point.

Everything ages

This is one way of looking at the aging process of your home and life, everything ages. You bought your home with old dollars. The roof with aging wood and the child is just like you some time ago. At some point they all need to go to the health club for a reshaping, something to get them back on, or continuing on a healthy track. New dollars can get them to the next step and moving forward. Everything needs a booster now and again to pull it all together. A refinance program is just that.

By: Alan Lim