Tips for consumers looking to refinance

Mortgage rates have dropped to another all-time low recently, with 30-year fixed rates at 3.91 percent and 15-year fixed rates at 3.21 percent. In order to take advantage of the low rates, consumers must apply for refinancing or a loan modification with their lender. However, many homeowners do not have the qualifying home equity, credit scores or capital to refinance.

Homeowners who do qualify for refinancing should take advantage of the rates, according to The Associated Press. More than 75 percent of homeowners with government-backed mortgages are paying mortgage rates above 5 percent, indicating they could save significant money through refinancing.

To help more consumers avoid foreclosure by applying the loan mortgage rates and modifying their loans, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has recently launched the HUD Language Line, a telephone language service. The program offers live interpretation services in more than 175 languages to help HUD staff communicat with families and borrowers who do not speak English fluently.

The language line will be used by HUD to provide information and resources to non English-speaking borrowers regarding fair housing, homeownership, lead abatement, housing assistance and other programs and services available to them. When a borrower calls the language line, an operator will direct their call to a  live interpreter to have their questions answered promptly.

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