Does a new home loan make sense? There are at least seven reasons to refinance a mortgage. You probably can think of the first one -- to get a lower mortgage rate. The average interest rate on an outstanding mortgage at the beginning of 2012 was 5.098 percent, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. However, lenders today are offering rates well below that benchmark, making a refinance a no-brainer for many. But low rates are not the only motive nowadays, here are some more good reasons to consider to refinance. Refi for a lower rate The No. 1 reason to refi is to get a lower mortgage rate. Despite sinking rates, a lot of people haven't refinanced. Many homeowners would like to refinance but can't because they have little or no equity due to falling home values, too many can't refi for this reason. Convert an ARM Stability-hungry borrowers are ditching adjustable-rate mortgages and refinancing into fixed-rate loans. Other borro...

A mortgage refinance boom is in full swing, as homeowners take advantage of record low rates by refinancing their home loans, but a home loan refi is more complicated than it was a few years ago. Home values are lower and paperwork requirements are higher. It's easy to make mistakes while refinancing a mortgage. To help you avoid some of the most common errors, here is a list of five things you shouldn't do when you refi. Be unrealistic about your home's value Deluding yourself about the value of your home is an excellent way to ruin a refi. Too many homeowners ignore falling home values in their neighborhood, convincing themselves their houses are worth at least what they paid for them. In mortgage refinances today, the most common reason for denial is a home appraisal that comes in too low. The lender won't lend for more than the appraised value. And a lot of homeowners go into denial about the decreased values of their homes. Dit...