2. If you are planning to stay in your home for at least three to five years, it may make sense to pay ;quot;points ;quot; (a point equals 1% of the loan amount) and closing costs to get the lowest available rate.

3. You can avoid a cash layout and still get a low rate by adding the fees and closing costs to your new mortgage. This does not mean shouldering a lot of extra debt. If you've had your current mortgage for at least three years, you've probably reduced your balance by several thousand dollars. So you may be able to tack your closing costs onto your new loan, lock in at a lower rate and still end up with a mortgage amount that's less than your original one. More importantly, a lower monthly payment.

In order for refinancing to make sense the traditional 'rule of thumb' is that the interest rate of your new mortgage must be about 2 percentage points below the rate of your current mortgage.

However, with our new low cost refinancing programs, it can be worth your while to refinance to obtain a smaller reduction in interest rates.

Another factor to consider is how long you expect to stay in your home? If your planning to move in the next few years, the monthly savings may never add up to the costs that are involved in refinancing.