You may be thinking of refinancing your current mortgage for one of several reasons. If you currently have an adjustable-rate mortgage, you may be looking for a fixed-rate mortgage with more competitive terms, or interest rates on your adjustable-rate mortgage may be rising so it makes sense to shift to a fixed-rate mortgage. If you bought your home some years ago, interest rates may have decreased significantly since then. Refinancing may also be part of a debt consolidation strategy.

Some individuals use refinancing as a means to free up some of their financial resources for major expenses, such as a childs college tuition. If you already have a first and second mortgage, you can combine these into a single mortgage by refinancing.

When does it make sense to refinance? If you stand to save two or more percentage points on the interest rate by refinancing, it probably makes sense to go ahead. If you have made enough repayments on your current mortgage to build equity of twenty percent or more, refinancing means you no longer have to pay private mortgage insurance. Keep in mind that it may take several years to recoup the costs of refinancing. This is why you should ask the lender about all fees involved in the transaction, and consider how long you intend to stay in your home. Check with your current lender whether there is any prepayment penalty for your current mortgage, and calculate whether the monthly payments on your new mortgage will help you pay off the mortgage completely by the end of the term.

There are a number of mortgage refinance calculators online, and you can even get instant and competitive quotes on the Internet. As with other mortgage options, you can go through a mortgage broker or approach a lender directly.