A drop in interest rates will attract the attention of both investors and home owners. Those with mortgages understand all too well the relationship between interest rates and monthly payments. As rates fall, home owners will be prompted to evaluate the costs of refinancing versus the benefits over time.

Declining interest rates may be surrounded by sluggish economic conditions, and that is certainly cause for concern, especially considering the resultant uncertainty of both employment security and returns on market investments. When refinancing mortgages, though, it must be determined whether the initial capital outlay required for the refinance will outweigh the interim advantages of monthly savings that result from lower mortgage payments. If the expenses do not exceed the benefits, then it is certainly advisable to study the matter more thoroughly, in order to determine if a refinance will increase cash flow for you by reducing your mortgage payments, and thereby free-up additional disposable income.

Many financial institutions recommend, as a general rule of thumb, that if interest rates fall 2 or more percentage points below your existing home mortgage, it is worth researching further and consider mortgage refinance. However, this is not recommended and readers are encouraged to see that more as a financial urban myth of the days of old. Today, there are many different types of mortgage refinance loans; middle income families have much more complex investment portfolios today, and have become financially savvy by being creative and juggling a number of different types of loans and cash-producing investments, both short term and long term. Also, unfortunately, many have become victim to credit card lending and practices that have escalated interest expense for an average of 8-10% for decades now.

Critical factors to consider when refinancing a home loan:

1. Current interest rate being offered.

2. Interest rate of your current mortgage.

3. The number of years remaining on your current mortgage.

4. Does your current mortgage have an early pay off penalty?

5. The number of years you plan on keeping your new mortgage.

6. Research banks competing to lower closing costs.

Once you’ve thought through these basic concepts and jotted down a few notes for yourself about refinancing your home mortgage, you will have a relatively clear notion of how this will affect your cash flow and if it will generate additional cash flow from the monthly savings. At this point, an online financial or mortgage calculator might be helpful to run a few financial scenarios and speak with loan officer about refinancing.

NB: Unusually severe currency value fluctuations can have a positive or negative effect on the outcome of your calculations. If this is known to be occurring or expected to occur, you should allow for this factor when calculating profit or loss from your mortgage refinance.

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