Look around. Everyone is talking about how great interest rates are right now.That is in fact true. Mortgage rates right now are at their lowest in memory. Right now, you can refinance your mortgage and get an interest rate near 4%. When can you ever recall rates that good. So if your rate is above that, it's probably time to consider refinancing your home.

But making the decision to refinance your home is just the beginning. You must know exactly how to refinance your mortgage so that you get the very best deal possible. Believe it or not, knowing exactly what to do and what not to do makes all the difference in the world. Here I will attempt to give you a brief education on the do's and don'ts of refinancing your mortgage.

A huge part in understanding just how to refinance is by learning exactly what the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) is and how to interpret it. The Good Faith Estimate is a document that is given to you by the bank, lender or mortgage broker at application (or within 3 days of application) that carefully lists an estimate of what your interest rate will be, as well as all fees and costs associated with the loan.

The difference between a good deal on a mortgage and a bad deal can usually be detected by reading the GFE. It is important to compare these estimates among several lenders to see just who is offering the best combination of interest rate and closing costs.

If a lender or broker fails to disclose this information or stalls in providing it, he is in all likelihood trying to hide what his costs are and you should probably look elsewhere for a refinance mortgage.

Look below at the video I made which gives you clear advice on how to interpret your GFE and what costs and fees you should be aware of.

A very important part of knowing how to refinance the right way, is knowing how to choose the right mortgage broker for you. Here, I will outline several criteria that you should use when choosing a good mortgage broker.

1) You should always begin your search by asking friends, family and co-workers for refferals.  Absent already having a broker whom you like, this is the best way to find someone.

2) Research different companies on the internet. There are several message boards and forums out there where customers who are both satisfied and unsatisfied discuss their experiences.  With a little legwork, you should see certain patterns develop about individual companies. If the news is overwhelmingly bad, you should be careful to stay away.

2) Do not accept anyones word that they will make good on an offer. All mortgage offers presented to you should be in writing. If they are not, then it is not an offer and you should not be surprised when it doesn't come to fruition.

3) If the loan officer is trying to steer you toward a loan product that is making you uncomfortable, go elsewhere. Many exotic mortgage programs pay a very high commission to the loan officer. You will find many loan officers out there whose only interest is in making the highest commission.

4) Check with the BBB to make sure that the broker does not  have a bad reputaion. This is the easiest form of background checking you can do and it may be a lifesaver.

This list can go on and on. But after having read this, you should be able to make a pretty solid and comfortable decision about which mortgage broker you would like to work with. It is after all a very important aspect of how to refinance your home and get the best deal.

It is impossible to write about how to refinance and get the best mortgage rate without discussing credit reports and credit scores. One of the most significant factors when it comes to refinancing your mortgage is your FICO Score. Your FICO score is a numeric value assigned to you by the credit agencies as sort of a ranking of your credit worthiness. A super fantastic FICO Score is 720 - 850. A good FICO Score is 680- 720. A mediocre FICO Score IS 650-680. A Fair credit score is 620 - 650 and anything below 620 is considered bad credit.

In an attempt to get the best mortgage deal you can, you will want to raise your credit score as much as possible. Here are few things you can do in an attempt to raise your credit score.

1) Check your own credit to see where you stand. It is good to know before you begin to see if you are even a good candidate for a refinance. When I teach people how to refinance, we often start by going over the credit report first.

2) Look for any inaccuracies. If there are mistakes on your credit report, you should write letters to the three credit bureaus to have them removed. They have 30 days to respond to your letter. And they must remove incorrect information from your credit report.

3) See if you are maxed out or at least above 50 or 60 percent of your credit limit on your credit cards. One big factor in credit scoring is determined by how much of your available credit you are using at the moment. Credit scores fall as your available credit falls. One way you might be able to help is to spread your balances out over several cards.

Any changes you make may take a month or more to be reflected on your credit report.

Let's face it, buying mortgage is like buying anything else. And those of us who have better bargaining skills will usually get a better deal than those of us who don't. So If you want to know how to refinance and really get the best deal, then you must learn how to bargain.

I will give you some very basic tips on how to do this, but they are very effective.

First, Get multiple offers for your mortgage. You want to be able to compare apples to apples. So by getting three or four offers for your refinance, you will have a better understanding of just what you are up against.

When you receive your offers, you will want to carefully examine the Good Faith Estimate from each offer (See Above). After having gone over the GFE's with a fine tooth comb, throw out the two mist expensive offers.

Now take your two best offers and start bargaining. You will want to call each company and brag how the other company is offering a lower cost on this or that. Or a lower rate etc. You will be amazed a how effective this strategy is.

Keep going back and forth between the two companies until you are basically out of bargaining room. If you do this, you can be pretty sure that you are getting the best deal for your situation.

By the way. In my opinion, you should get your multiple offers from one company such as Lending Tree. The reason is that your credit report will only be pulled one time during the shopping process which is better for your credit score. Also you know that you will be dealing with good solid banks that will be around for the long run.

CLICK HERE TO GET FOUR GREAT MORTGAGE OFFERS FROM LENDING TREE