Mortgage Interest Rates

If you would like to find today's current mortgage interest rate, visit www.bankrate.com and look at the 30 year, 15 year fixed interest rates, etc. These rates change constantly and it is best to keep up with them by reading the latest Mortgage News provided on this website as well as staying on top of what's happening in the US economy. Check your local newspaper for mortgage brokers and banks advertising their rates in your local neighbourhood and compare those rates.

Do you currently have a mortgage loan and would like to lower your interest rates? A Mortgage Refinancing option could be ideal for you. Mortgage refinancing is when you take out a new secured loan in order to pay off your current mortgage loan (that is usually at a higher interest rate). The new loan is "secured" against your current home or property meaning that if you fail to make payments towards the new loan, the lender has the right to possess your home in order to cover his losses. Home mortgage refinancing is typically done when you have a mortgage on your house and borrow a 2nd loan in order to pay off the first one. It is therefore very important to know whether the money you will save from refinancing into a 2nd loan exceeds the costs & fees of taking out that loan. Click here to read everything about Mortgage Refinancing.

It is usually best to refinance a mortgage loan when the US Federal Reserve cuts interest rates. While your credit score and the amount of down payment you have on your home influences the interest rate you will pay, the most important factor that influences your interest rate is the current market rates set by the Federal Reserve. Mortgage refinancing gives you the option of refinancing your mortgage loan at a time when the Federal Reserve is lowering interest rates, helping you save money on your loan and have more cash flow.

Rate & Term Mortgage Refinancing

Rate & Term mortgage refinancing is when you refinance your mortgage just so as to change the interest rates and the term of your mortgage loan. You will not be taking out any cash or using your equity to do anything, you are merely trying to save yourself some money by signing up for a lower interest rate. The type of interest rate you get depends on the value of your equity built in to the home. Mortgage lenders use what's called a 'loan to value' ratio. For example, if your home is worth $300,000 and you have $150,000 equity built in to it, your loan to value ratio is 50%. The higher the loan to value ratio, the higher the interest rate. It is therefore very important to have a decent amount of equity built in to your home before you refinance your mortgage.

Buy Down Mortgage Refinance

Buy down mortgage refinancing can significantly reduce your interest rate. This is how it works. You pay $1500 a month for your mortgage payments, and in the year 2007, you saved an additional $30,000 in your savings account. That is a pretty good thing. You could use this $30,000 to pay down the principal of your house. For example if you owed $185,000 on your mortgage loan, your new principal balance would be $185,000 - $30,000 = $ 155,000. When lenders see this, they know that you have money and are paying down your mortgage faster. They will be willing to work with you to lower your interest rate.

Lock in the Lowest Interest Rate

After shopping around for a mortgage and comparing many different lenders and if you find the lowest interest rate possible, lock it in! Do NOT wait for several days or weeks hoping the US Federal Reserve is further going to cut interest rates, or that interest rates in general will go down. They will probably go the opposite direction! Develop a good working relationship with your mortgage broker and let them find you the best interest rate possible.

Cash Out Refinancing Rates

If you have high interest credit card debt or would like to do some value based home improvements on your home, a cash out refinancing deal would be ideal. This is because the interest rate you get from a cash out refinancing loan is a lot less than the interest rates charged on credit cards. Cash Out Refinancing is when you take out a mortgage refinancing loan for an amount that is larger than the current principal balance owed on your home. You use this to pay off your old mortgage loan, and use the extra cash to pay off your credit card debt.