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If you're looking to save some money on monthly bills, you should consider taking a look at your mortgage. Although the housing industry isn't a seller's market right now, you can still get good deals on refinancing options.

Refinancing can be an especially good idea if you find yourself out of a job or if you're one of millions who bought a home they couldn't afford.

Let's look at some refinancing options.

Streamline Refinancing

Streamline refinancing is designed to make the process of refinancing easy. By and large, there are only a few basic requirements in order to qualify for streamline refinancing, which are:

• Your mortgage loan has to be in good standing (no delinquency, or anywhere near foreclosure, basically)
• The loan has to be insured
• The purpose of streamline refinancing is to lower the monthly payment
• You can't get any cash back from the refinance

Fixed-Rate Refinancing

A fixed-rate loan is very safe, since you know exactly how much you'll be paying for the life of the mortgage (well, you might end up paying less if you are lucky; since when rates go down, nobody can stop you from refinancing again at better rates!).

Adjustable Rate Mortgage

With an ARM, the future is less predictable. Typically, ARM loans have a few years of a fixed rate, and then they revert to a variable rate. The variable rate will change with the market conditions. In the worst case, you may end up paying very high interest rates (for example, if serious inflation hits several years down the road).

Cash-out or Not?

If you decide to go with cash-out refinancing, you would normally pay much higher interest rates. However, many people still choose this option for many reasons. You might want to pay off credit card debt, make some home improvements, beef-up your emergency fund, or just take a nice family vacation.

The dangers of cash-out refinancing are pretty obvious: if your financial discipline is not perfect, you will quickly spend the cash and end up with a larger loan and no additional assets or income to pay it off. Even if you think you can live with bigger interest payments today, you make yourself more vulnerable to various financial problems that result from a layoff, emergency medical costs, investment losses, etc.

Have Limited Equity?

Refinancing with limited equity is doable. The best way for you to pursue refinancing with limited equity might be to get it from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). FHA refinance loans can definitely help people who are hoping to refinance with limited equity. Since the mortgage payment is reduced, those risking foreclosure will be able to avoid it, and can get cash out to consolidate bills or even help improve their home value. FHA refinancing also has terms that are easy to understand with low costs involved, and the loans don't require standard credit demands (i.e., strong or perfect credit). However, FHA loans have eligibility requirements that you must meet in order to qualify for refinancing with limited equity programs. You can refer to the Federal Home Administration website for information on the qualifications.

There are plenty of refinancing options available no matter what your budget mortgage size is. The trick is to be diligent and investigate several scenarios for refinancing. Will extending your mortgage lower your payments? Will an annual payment help? Find a good mortgage calculator online and spend a few minutes looking at your options before committing.

For quite some time many people have thought purchasing a foreclosure bargain was a good to earn profit with a low investment. There are dozens of infomercials, books and real estate "programs" all catering to those who want to dabble in the foreclosure investment game, but the strategy is not as easy as all the so-called experts say.

It is true that there are plenty of foreclosures on the market. The real estate bubble created by risky mortgages has burst, leaving a slew of foreclosed properties around the nation. Mortgage rates are at an all-time low and it is truly the first buyer's market of the newmillennium. By learning the truth and dispelling the foreclosure investment myths, you can take advantage of the market wisely.

Foreclosure Investment Myth #1: Making money in foreclosures is easy

Nothing could be further from the truth. The competitive nature of purchasing and securing a great deal on a foreclosure, is no simple task. After that you have to make all the repairs necessary, since some foreclosed homes can be left in disrepair. The investment requires a lot of time and effort.

Foreclosure Investment Myth #2: Buying a foreclosed property will allow me to pay pennies on the dollar for the home of my dreams

There are some savings involved in foreclosure purchases, but not to the extent many investors fantasize about.

Many foreclosed properties sell for anywhere from 5%-40% under the current real estate market value with the bulk of the properties selling at only a 5% discount.

Foreclosure Investment Myth #3: Buying a foreclosure is fast as people are desperate to move quickly

Depending on what stage of the game you try to purchase your foreclosed investment property, the process can take anywhere from 3 months to over a year.

If you do end up purchasing a foreclosure for investment purposes, there is money to be made in the long run as far as value appreciation and event profit from using the property as a rental. Make sure to know the truths behind the foreclosure investment myths before deciding on your fate.

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