If you are considering a home refinance, you will need to know about the many different mortgages, rates and types that will affect how you repay your loan and how much you will repay in the future.  Not all refinancing mortgages are alike.

Many lenders will not offer all types of mortgages for every kind of refinancing loan.  It may depend on your reason for refinancing.  Are you considering home equity loans or second mortgages?  A home equity loan can be received in one lump sum or as a home equity line of credit that you can borrow from when needed.  A second mortgage is just what it sounds like, a secondary mortgage loan on your home.  The biggest difference between these is the interest rates and the repayment terms.

Are you looking for a bill consolidation loan or a home renovation mortgage?  Some lenders will try to talk you into a more traditional loan for bill consolidation, but be careful because these traditional loans are typically not tax deductible while a mortgage almost always is.  For a home renovation loan you will want to determine how much more your home will be worth once the renovation is completed and this could affect how much you are eligible to borrow.

If you are retired and just need the extra money to enjoy your retirement and your monthly income just isn’t enough to do the things you want, a reverse mortgage could be an option you want to look at.  Basically with a reverse mortgage, the loan company makes mortgage payments to you.  This is a fairly new and somewhat complicated type of mortgage so you will want to sit down with a lender and get all of the information.

Mortgage rates come in different shapes and sizes to fit every need and personality.  Yes, personality.  Do you have a risk taking personality?  Do you enjoy the risk of the casino or the stock market?  You might be more interested in an adjustable rate mortgage.  Adjustable rate mortgages rates and payments rise and fall with the interest rates nationally.  This can be a great way to save money when the mortgage rates are down but when they go up, your payments go up, too.

If your personality is more conservative, you invest in savings accounts or CD’s and you won’t even buy a lottery ticket, then a fixed rate mortgage is probably more your style.  Your interest will be a little higher with a fixed mortgage rate, but your payments will always be the same no matter where the housing market is five years from now.  This is the safer, but sometimes pricier mortgage.

You can determine what your mortgage rates will be online by searching for free mortgage quotes.  These are instant, free, and you don’t even have to give your personal information to get them.  You an also use a mortgage calculator that you find online to determine rates and payments.  If you’ve already received rate quotes, a mortgage payment calculator can help you choose between them.  Keep an eye on the mortgage rates predictions if you’re not quite ready for your loan yet.  If the predictions say that the rates will be rising, now might be the best time to go ahead with it.