One of the biggest things you should do is be aware of the refinancing options you have so you can make an the right decision. If you’re putting less than 20% down, you’ll have options for privately insured conventional loans or FHA loans. If you put five percent down and go with a conventional loan the biggest thing to be aware of is how you finance your private mortgage insurance because you could save thousands of dollars and most mortgage companies don’t go over those options with their customers.

The rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage clenched onto the record low it hit a week ago and was unchanged at 3.87 percent, Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. That’s the lowest level ever in the 40-year history of the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey. Good news to those of you looking to purchase a home or refinance your current one. Last year at this time, rates were hovering around 5.05 percent. The average 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage rate climbed to 3.16 percent from last week’s record low of 3.14 percent.

Earlier this week, President Barack Obama, announced a program to help struggling homeowners refinance their mortgages. The president is betting this plan will fare better than his administration’s earlier efforts to fix the housing market.

Here’s a look at what the current plan has had to offer. If your current mortgage is owned by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae and you don’t pay private mortgage insurance you may qualify for one of the refinance programs that stemmed from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This allows you to finance up to 125% of your home’s value. If you don’t pay private mortgage insurance, private mortgage insurance is not required if you have less than 20% equity in your home. There is also no combined loan to value cap, so if you have a second mortgage, the programs allow you to leave your second mortgage in place and just refinance your first mortgage and take advantage of today’s low rates.

Bad news for the economy is good news for mortgage interest rates. If you’ve been paying attention to the news over the last year, you’re aware there hasn’t been much to be happy about in regards to our economic recovery, so rates have dipped to historic lows. It seem each week mortgage rates are falling to a new record low.

Refinance programs that people can take advantage of are government refinance programs, FHA or VA streamline refinances where an appraisal isn’t required. Rates are to the point where reducing your term and rate can save you money each month. A lot of people don’t know that there is a 20-year fixed rate, so that might be a good product to look into if you don’t want to go back to a 30-year term.

If you’re running into any one of those problems go online and jump on our live chat and have someone call you right away. Or we also have a second opinion form on the website, so if you need a second opinion, fill out the form and get clarification. In this business you hear the most ridiculous reasons of why people have had to change loan programs or why they have been turned down. Many of them have had to do with lender overlays which prevent people from getting approved because a specific lender may have tighter underwriting guidelines than most. Or in some cases, they just don’t have the loan program available so they will turn you away.

In case you missed it yesterday, fixed mortgage rates once again skidded to a record low. Freddie Mac said the average rate on 30-year fixed mortgages fell to 3.89% on Thursday. It’s the lowest on record dating back to 1971 when Freddie started collecting data. That’s below the previous record of 3.91% three weeks ago.  The average on 15-year fixed mortgages trickled down to an average 3.16% from a record 3.21% – also set three weeks ago. That being said, mortgage applications climbed to 4.5% this week, The Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.

As far as income goes, both conventional and Federal Housing Administration mortgages allow for non-occupant co-borrowers which simply means that if you can get a family member to co-sign to help you qualify. For FHA mortgages you can put as little as 3.5% down with a non-occupant co-borrower and 20% down for a conventional mortgage. Non-occupant co-borrowers can also be used to help qualify to refinance if needed as well.

For people who don’t have their down payment saved, it can be gifted from a family member or employer for FHA mortgages. For conventional mortgages it can be gifted as long as you have 5% of your own funds verified to put down. Gifts are also allowed for both FHA and conventional refinances where people need to pay down their existing mortgage to qualify.

As far as income goes, both conventional and FHA mortgages allow for non-occupant co-borrowers, which simply means that if you can get a family member to co-sign to help you qualify. For FHA mortgages you can put as little as 3.5% down with a non-occupant co-borrower and 20% down for a conventional mortgage. Non-occupant co-borrowers can also be used to help qualify to refinance if needed as well. For people who don’t have their down payment saved it can be gifted from a family member or employer. For FHA mortgages and for conventional mortgages it can be gifted as long as you have 5% of your own funds verified to put down. Gifts are also allowed for both FHA and conventional refinances where people need to pay down their existing mortgage to qualify.

The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage has dropped to 3.94 percent, matching the record low set in October, Freddie Mac said Thursday. The nationwide figure dropped from 3.99 percent a week earlier and equals the record low (Freddie’s data goes back to 1971). The 15-year rate set an all-time low of 3.21 percent, falling from 3.27 percent, the mortgage-finance company reported.

Mortgage rates were around six percent in 2002 and in 2006 reached record highs. Low-interest mortgages will be available at least through mid-2012, according to Freddie Mac’s chief economist, Frank Nothaft.

If you qualify for a VA loan you can purchase a house with no money down and get extremely good financing. You still pay a one-time funding fee to the VA which you can finance but with a VA loan there is no monthly mortgage insurance which makes your payment more affordable. If you have a VA loan and are considering refinancing, you can refinance and an appraisal isn’t required with a VA interest rate reduction loan.