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Refinancing your home mortgage loan is a rather simple process. In fact, the better prepared you are, the smoother and quicker the refinance process can go. When you refinance, you are basically applying for a brand new mortgage. Once all the papers are signed and the refinancing transaction is completed, your original mortgage will be repaid in full, and you will begin making payments on your new refinanced loan.

It seems like a lot of work to achieve the same end result, but actually the end results of refinancing should be more advantageous to your circumstances. You should end up with a lower rate of interest, a shorter loan term, a completely different type of home mortgage or more cash on hand which you can spend as needed.

Refinancing begins with the application

Regardless of the desired end result, every refinance begins with an application. Once you have determined the refinance option that's going to be best and you have chosen a lender, you'll be asked to complete an appropriate loan application form.

As before, you will be asked to provide personal, financial, and employment information and you'll likely have to provide documentation to back up each of your answers such as current pay stubs, income tax returns or copies of W-2 forms, bank statements and perhaps other records of your investments/assets. You probably will also have to provide proof of homeowner's insurance and title insurance.

Depending on what is going on at the time you are refinancing, you might wish to consider locking in your interest rate. If rates are going up, this is definitely a good idea. Keep in mind however that the approval process for home mortgage refinancing shouldn't take as long as it did the first time around, especially if you are prepared. You can expect refinancing to take anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks. If you refinance through the same lender as your original mortgage, you may shave even more time off the approval process.

And you might be able to shave some of the actual closing costs, too. To get your business, lenders are agreeing to pay some costs that borrowers normally would be required to pay. They might waive the application fee or they might send out one of their own appraisers. Or they might agree to pay the title fee, or not charge for copies of credit reports. You may be charged a slightly higher rate of interest for these benefits because in life, nothing really is free.

What about mortgage refinancing closing costs?

Competition in the refinance market is fierce and many lenders advertise that their loans have no closing costs. This may be true in some cases, but more often it means that you won't have to bring a check to closing. Instead, the closing costs usually are rolled over into the mortgage itself. The marketing behind mortgage refinancing can be confusing, so take your time and make sure you understand all the terms and conditions before you sign on the dotted line!