Thinking about refinancing your home? Home mortgages are usually a family's biggest debt, so picking the right mortgage can effect more than just your cash flow. Refinancing may be the "alternate solution" that can save you money on your home loan. The objective is to lower your mortage payments or pay off your loan faster. By refinancing, you can reach these goals.

Refinancing involves replacing one mortgage with another. This makes sense if the results will lower your payments, pay off the loan faster, or lower the risk of paying higher interest rates in the future.

When is the best time to refinance a home? Refinancing a home takes time, effort, and money. Other things include:

• Origination fees. Typically one percent of the mortgage amount.
  
• appraisal costs
  
• attorney fees
  
• underwriting fees
  
• tax service fees
  
• survey costs
  
• discount points
  
• credit report costs
  
• application fees
  
• title insurance
  
• preparation costs
  
• and other fees that vary from state to state.

The best time to refinance is if you can break even within twenty four months. You can recoup your costs if you plan to be in your house long enough. To find out, divide your monthly savings into the total closing costs.

For example, if you have a $100,000, 30 year mortgage at 8 percent, your payments are about $733 per month. If you refinance at 7 percent, your monthly payment would drop to about $655, saving you $68 per month. If your closing costs came to $2,200, it would take 32 months for you to recoup the cost of refinancing. If you stay in your house longer than that, then you've made a wise decision.

Here are some Internet sites where you'll find advice on when to refinance and how, a rundown of available loans, and up-to-the-minute interest rates.

• Home Path. This is a site that will help you with buying or refinancing a home.
  
  
• Housing Urban Development. HUD's Mission: Fighting for fair housing, increasing affordable housing & home ownership, reducing homelessness, promoting jobs and economic opportunity, empowering people and communities and restoring the public trust.
  
  
• Mortgage Bankers Association of America. Consumer and Industry Resources site.
  
  
• Mortgage Market Informations Services, Inc.. The largest Clearing House of Mortgage Information on the Web.
  
  
• Bank Rate Monitor. Provides online consumers with financial data, research and editorial information on non-investment financial products.
  
  
• The Mortgage Network. The Mortgage Network is a full service mortgage brokerage firm serving the real estate financing needs of individuals throughout the country.
  
  
• CNS Mortgage Service. You can search for mortgage rates and programs by city. In addition, there's extensive consumer information to assist you.
  
  
• Microsurf Internet Services, Inc. One of the most useful network of consumer web sites in the real estate industry providing the consumer with all of the information needed to make an intelligent purchase decision.