The other approach is to carry out your own research directly. This is normally done online, by looking both at the mortgages that banks and credit unions are advertising themselves, and at the comparisons listed on price comparison and mortgage search engine sites.

When looking at mortgage refinance, you need to also understand the tax implication.

Since the interest paid on a loan or mortgage is normally tax deductible, if you refinance and reduce your interest payments, you are likely to end up paying more tax.

The good news, however, is that you are likely to save much more on your monthly mortgage bills than the extra tax you pay, so you should still come out a winner.

Sure banks are being encouraged, even ordered, by government to lend more and overcome the Credit Crisis (or Credit Crunch). However we have to remember that banks making bad loans is a big part of what got us into this mess. Remember sub-prime loans everyone?

If you have any credit issues, then getting a new mortgage might be tough. The process is time-consuming, so you may need to get your credit history sorted out first before applying.

We are hearing stories of banks arbitrarily changing their lending rules week to week, as they get new evidence of lending issues or on the whim of the bosses when they can’t sleep at night.

So there are clearly challenges, but also a let of benefits in finding a good mortgage refi option. Keith Timimi