Should You Refinance? See if You Can Hit the Trifecta.

If you're moving from a 30-year term to a 15-year term, your monthly payment generally will be much higher.

-- Is your interest rate lower? If you want to shorten the loan term and cut your monthly payment, the only way to do it is by lowering your interest rate. But a lower rate doesn't always ensure savings: You can lower your interest rate but not save anything on your monthly payments because of higher costs and fees for refinancing or because you've opted for a shorter loan term.

Take the time to shop around. Some lenders will charge you thousands of dollars for your refinance, while others will charge just a few hundred. You'll want to know exactly what the costs are before signing your application.

Q: I have two loans on my primary residence. I do not own any other property. Both loans are owned by the same lender. I owe more than my house is worth. My mortgage is at a rate of 6.25 percent, and I have a home-equity loan at 9 percent. We bought the house in 2006. We have been current on our payments and have no other debts. What advice do you have for us, especially regarding the equity loan?

A: You and millions of other Americans fall into that black hole of homeowners who presumably can afford their payments but can't refinance to take advantage of today's lower rates.

The first thing you have to determine is how much your home's value has fallen and compare that number with what you owe on your first mortgage and on what you owe on your home-equity line. Next, you have to determine whether your primary home loan is owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Go to http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov to find out. If your primary loan falls under the purview of Fannie or Freddie and the amount you owe on that loan is no more than 125 percent of the home's current value, you might be able to refinance under President Obama's Making Home Affordable plan.

Your real problem, however, might come with the home-equity line of credit. The Making Home Affordable plan works with primary mortgages but not so well with equity lines. Since both of your loans are with the same lender, if the debt on both loans is not more than 125 percent of the current value of your home, that lender may be willing to refinance both loans into a new loan under the plan.

If, however, your primary loan is not tied to either Fannie or Freddie, or if your home's value has fallen so low that your loan-to-value is more than 125 percent, you may be out of luck.

A handful of lenders are working with their borrowers to give them the benefit of a lower rate while keeping all the other terms the same. You might want to check with your lender about this solution. If your current lender doesn't require a new appraisal on the home and your family income is sufficient to afford the payments on the loans, you might find your lender willing to help you.

I'm hearing from lots of people who say they can't get the lenders to focus on them. Some have received letters from lenders saying they are eligible to participate in a refinance or loan modification, but when they call, the lender tells them they don't qualify for the lowest interest rates, or the lender offers a refinance loaded with costs and fees.

And while there is no rule that says borrowers have to be delinquent in their mortgage payments before qualifying for some loan-modification programs, some borrowers are being told they have to be late with their mortgage payments (and trash their credit scores) to get help.

Making Home Affordable does not require you to be delinquent on your mortgage to get help. But it's a voluntary program, so lenders can decide what works for them. And it appears that the Making Home Affordable plan pays lenders a bonus if they help customers who are late with their mortgage.