A century ago, home ownership worked a lot differently for most people. Sure, some folks -mostly city-dwellers – bought homes. But, more often than not, people went about getting a home a bit differently: they would find an open plot of unsettled land, clear it, and start building their own home.

My, how things have changed. The frontier mentality has gone away for 99% of Americans. Nowadays, home ownership is all about saving up some money (maybe 10-20% of the value of the home you want to buy) and paying for the rest by taking out a mortgage.

As any homeowner will tell you, once you buy into the mortgage game, you are in it for a long time. Unless you hit the lottery or someone dies and leaves you a fortune, you will probably be paying your mortgage off over the full 20 or 30-year term.

Trouble is, most of us fall into a rut in paying our mortgage. The loan term is just so long that it is easy to forget to re-evaluate your mortgage situation once in a while to see if there is a good way to get a better rate.

A Solution: Refinancing

Well, there is an excellent way to do just that: through refinancing. Refinancing is simply a process whereby you exchange your existing mortgage for a new one at a better interest rate.

By refinancing your mortgage at a lower interest rate, you can potentially reduce your monthly payments, pay off your loan faster, and/or reduce the total cost of your loan.

When To Refinance

There is no magic rule for when to refinance your mortgage, but generally the best time is when you:

a. notice that mortgage interest rates have been on the decline or are at historic lows

b. believe your credit score is better than it was when you signed your existing mortgage

Refinance Mortgage Interest Rates – 3 Tips For Getting The Best Rate

Ready to refinance? Here are 3 tips for getting the best rate:

1. Understand where rates are now in terms of their historical trending: Find a financial website and pay attention to recent trends for the prime rate, LIBOR, or other standard interest rate. This is a good measuring stick to see if rates are down overall since banks base their rates in part on these measuring sticks.

2. Know your credit score before applying for refinancing: Find out your credit score from all three of the major bureaus. Knowing it will help you negotiate a better rate. Also, be sure to fix any glitches in your reports by contacting the agencies directly.

3. Build a list of multiple refinance mortgage lenders: This is key: it is very tempting to only apply to one or two lenders. Resist the temptation! Instead, be sure to apply to at least 5 – 7 lenders. Doing so will greatly increase your chances of landing a low rate. Bonus tip: once you get your best offer, be sure to go back and see if they can do even better for you.

Follow these tips to get the best mortgage refinance interest rate.

Author Bio: Get access to the lowest mortgage refinance interest rates around at: Best Refinance Interest Rate Tips.

Category: Finances
Keywords: Refinance Mortgage Interest Rates, 3 Tips to refinance your mortgage, better mortgage interest rates