Round Rock, TX -- (ReleaseWire) -- 01/15/2009 -- With the rush to refinance home loans, not seen since the great refi boom in 2003, homeowners need to ask themselves some important questions. Not everybody should refinance, and those that should, its important to choose the right loan for your financial well being.

So before you go and get "sold" a loan by someone on the other end of an 800 number, or someone who is not licensed and part of a phone room taking random calls from people like you from across the United States, make sure you're able to talk to a Mortgage Advisor.

"Not many are aware that an individual answering the phone at anyone of the large banks are not required to be licensed", says Brian Schroeder, an Austin and Round Rock, Texas based mortgage consultant. "Texas is one the states that requires a Mortgage Advisor, or broker, to not only be licensed, but to take continuing education courses in order to remain abreast of best practices. And the Mortgage Advisor is able to deliver a loan at or below the rates of the banks with competitive costs."

Schroeder offers these tips when considering refinancing:

1) Consider what your motivations are for the refinance. Do you want to lessen the burden each month and have lower payments? Or are OK every month and not pinched, but want to get a lower rate so as to lower the amount of interest you pay over the life of the loan? How about getting rid of your Mortgage Insurance?

A mortgage Advisor can you show you loan options that can save you tens of thousands of dollars in interest either way. In many cases the loan can be paid off in a shorter period of time and the home owner can double the equity in half the amount of time it would otherwise take.

Disregard the refinance if you don't plan on staying in the home long enough to recoup the closing costs. Take the difference between you old payment and the new payment and divide that into your closing costs. That number is the number of months it will take for you to start taking advantage of the lower payments.

2) Be cautious when it’s suggested to roll debt into your home loan, as in a "Cash Out Refinance". This is done by paying off debt with the equity in your house. The first caveat is taking unsecured debt, such as credit card debt, and making it secured debt through the loan. Missing a credit card payment won't effect where you lay your head at night. While missing mortgage payments may find you in a difficult position with the holder of your note.

The other concern is the rates will be higher for the "cash out" loan, sometimes a whole point higher. And in Texas, there is a law that establishes "once a cash out, always a cash out". This means to say, once you tap the equity in your home through a refinance, any time down the road while in the same home, you decide to refinance again irrespective of you asking for cash out again, it will be treated as a “cash out” and subject to those higher rates.

3) Make sure you have a credit history that puts you in position to take advantage of these killer rates. Late pays on the mortgage note will dampen the deal. Multiple lates will kill it. Also, the credit companies, Trans Union, Experian, and Equifax are putting more weight on credit card late pays. Also, if you are maxing out your credit line on each of the cards, move balances so as to be under 50% of credit line. You may want to establish another credit card to do this. Keep the older cards open and if you don't use them, take the out for a ride once in a while, then pay them off next month so as to keep the active.

Austin and Round Rock, Texas - based mortgage expert Brian Schroeder specializes in providing mortgage information to Texas residents that allows them to make informed decisions about their mortgage financing options and learn the insider secrets that can save them thousands of dollars over the life of their loan.

Brian Schroeder is available for interviews and will welcome all your mortgage related questions.

Call 512-680-0623 for a Free No-Obligation Consultation or visit http://TexasMortgageHelp.com