Seems obvious but what many people don’t realize is how volatile rate have been in the last few years. Rate swings as large as point 1 have occurred in the last 12 months. Our client who refinanced in Spring 07 will refinance again in Fall 07. Many of our client have refinanced 3 or 4 times with us.

One way to simplify your monthly bills is to combine your first and second mortgages together into one loan.
Combining first and second mortgages into one loan can makes sense financially but not in all cases. Speak to an experienced loan officer to find out if it is in your best interests to combine the two mortgages.

If you have a 15 year mortgage and you find yourself in a bad situation that requires you to find a way to save more, switching to a 30 year mortgage can greatly help you out. Or just refinance to another 30 year loan and your payment will drop because you are borrowing less mon

With cash-out refinancing, you refinance your mortgage for more than you currently owe, then pocket the difference.
Here's an example: Let's say you still owe $150,000 on a $250,000 house, and you want $20,000 cash, maybe to spend on your child's college fund. You can refinance the mortgage for $200,000. Ideally, you get a better rate on the $200,000 that you owe on the house and you get a check for $50,000 to spend as you wish.
Cash-out refinancing differs from a home equity loan in several ways:

A home equity loan is a separate loan on top of your first mortgage.

A cash-out refinance is a replacement of your first mortgage.

The interest rates on a cash-out refinancing are usually, but not always, lower than the interest rate on a home equity loan.

Private mortgage insurance is the bain of my existance. PMI protects the banks from complete loss in the event that a borrower defaults on the mortgage. Bascially you pay to cover the banks butt. If you own less than 20% of your home, most banks require you pay for this. The biggest waste of money ever.
You should get rid of PMI ASAP! When rates take a turn for the better, you usually get out of this with ease. Here’s the trick:
Call the bank and say “I am think of Refinancing with another bank! The rates are now swaying in my direction. Can you provide me any reason not to leave?” They will schedule an appraisal for you right away that tell you your house is worth more, so you have the 20% equity to cancel. In many circumstances, they’ll offer you a refi with low-low closing costs.

Yes, as long as you can recoup the cost of points and closing costs within four or five years, or you can lower your rate with a “no-point, no-closing cost” mortgage. When shopping for a mortgage, ask prospective lenders to “run the numbers” on any loan you’re considering to determine how long it will take you to recoup the cost of refinancing.