Your FICO Credit score is used by mortgage companies to determine how much of a risk you are for a home mortgage refinance loan.The lower your score, the more you will pay when mortgage refinancing.There are ways to improve your credit before applying and save money on your home mortgage refinance loan.Here are tips to help you polish your FICO score and qualify for a better mortgage refinancing interest rate.FICO stands for "Fair Isaac Corporation," named for the company that calculates your score.Fair Isaac evaluates the contents of your credit reports and assigns a numerical value to your credit worthiness.Because there are three companies that maintain records, you will have three FICO scores, one for each credit agency.Before you consider mortgage refinancing it is important to request credit reports from each credit reporting agency and carefully review your records for errors.Any adverse information found in your credit reports will damage your FICO scores.Other factors that affect your FICO score include the length of time you have been using credit, the amount of available credit vs.Your debts, negative credit information in your file, collections, any write-offs or bad debt.If you find mistakes in your credit history it is important to dispute the error and allow enough time for the correction to raise your FICO score before applying for a home mortgage refinance loan.How to Improve Your FICO Score before Mortgage Refinancing.Improving your credit score takes time, there is no quick fix; however, there are steps you can take to raise your score.First, make sure you are paying all of your bills on time as 35% of your FICO score is based on your payment history.Fair Isaac also bases 30% of your FICO score on the amount of your debts and your available credit limit.The remaining factors include 15% based on the length of your credit history, 10% on the amount of recent inquires, and 10% on the type of credit accounts you use.The items you can control prior to mortgage refinancing include paying your bills on time, maintaining low balances on your credit cards, and paying off negative information found in your credit reports.The more time you have to devote to improving your credit score, the more you can boost your FICO Score.If you are a homeowner with poor credit you want to devote at least six months to improving your FICO score before applying for a home mortgage refinance loan.You can learn more about your credit and how it affects mortgage refinancing by registering for a free mortgage tutorial.

If you are a homeowner considering mortgage refinancing, it is important to know what reasonable fees you can expect to pay.Comparison shopping for a home mortgage refinance loan will save you thousands of dollars if you know what reasonable rates and fees are.Here are several tips to help you avoid overpaying fees when taking out a home mortgage refinance loan.Mortgage refinancing can save you thousands of dollars when done correctly.When comparison shopping for a home mortgage refinance loan, it is important to compare lender fees, closing costs, and interest rates using the Good Faith Estimate.Many financial advisors tell you to pick a mortgage based on the Annual Percentage Rate; however, the APR does not give you enough information to make an informed decision.Home Mortgage Refinance Loan Origination Fees.Origination fees are paid to the Mortgage Company or broker that completes your home mortgage refinance loan.Your home mortgage refinance loan origination fees should not be higher than 1-1.5% for a home you live in.If you are refinancing an investment property you can expect your origination fees to run 2-2.5%.Home Mortgage Refinance Loan Junk Fees.The next fee to locate on your Good Faith Estimate is the home mortgage refinance loan processing fee.Do not pay more than $400 for loan processing; anything more and the mortgage company is gouging you with the processing fee.Lastly, look for anything on the home mortgage refinance loan Good Faith Estimate that resembles a broker origination or courier fee, application fee, loan submission fee, or lock fees.These are mortgage company junk fees that you should never agree to pay.You can learn more about home mortgage refinance loans and avoiding costly mistakes by registering for a free mortgage tutorial.