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Mortgage Refinancing Help
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 If your monthly payment on a fixed-rate loan includes escrow amounts for taxes and insurance, your payment each month could change over time due to changes in property taxes, insurance, or community association fees.
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 Federal Citizen Information Center »
Provides a library of consumer interest publications on a variety of topics. A service of the U.S. General Services Administration.
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 Ineed2know.org »
An independent, not-for-profit service providing articles and tips about products and services.
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 EConsumer.gov »
Provides information on consumer protection laws in thirteen countries and offers consumers a way to file complaints online.
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 InstructionSheets.com »
Includes alphabetical list of manufacturers with links to their sites and list of product instruction manuals offered for download.
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 BestStuff.com »
A network of reporters, authors, and industry experts offering reviews of new products.
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 Master Me Meter »
Life calculators and tools for career, family, and work.
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 Instruction Manuals UK »
Instruction manuals for products sold in the United Kingdom.
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 MouthShut.com »
Consumers research, compare, and review products and services.
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 ConsumerSearch.com »
Database of categorized consumer product reviews from a variety of news and trade publications. For each product, it ranks and describes all reviews, provides a full story of expert analysis, and lists top rated products by category.
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 Make Life Easy »
An analytical shopping tool for consumers and businesses. Users can create smart shopping lists and personal consumer reports to make skilled purchase decisions.
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 JD Power Information Center »
Using consumer satisfaction data collected, this site provides consumers information to help them in their buying decisions.
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 Consumers' Checkbook »
This independent, non-profit consumer authority provides articles and ratings for local services in the United States.
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 Fixya.com »
Support information for consumer electronics and appliances, repair services, manuals, guides, faqs and troubleshooting.
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 Canadian Consumer Handbook »
Offers information that includes online shopping, contracts, housing and home renovations, identity theft and collection agencies. Created and updated by the Consumer Measures Committee. [English and French]
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 InfoFAQ »
Questions and answers about buying products and services over the Internet.
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 Federation of American Consumers and Travelers (FACT) »
A national consumer organization offering benefits, discounts, and programs for consumers and travelers. Offers subscription based articles on cost saving health care benefits, scholarships, grants, and non-partisan political reports.
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 Canadian Consumer Information »
Consumer information guides covering a variety of topics including children, consumer products and services, environment, food, health, housing and finance.
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 EnerGuide »
Produced by the Canadian government's Office of Energy Efficiency, rates home appliances for cost of operation and gives tips and advice.
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 The User Manual Site »
Contains instruction manuals and other support documents including operator and user guides, and how-to information for all sorts of appliances, machines and devices.
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 Check Out »
Wal-Mart's buyers blog about products they evaluate and solicit input from customers.
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 Moving Company Guide »
Covering choosing a moving company, insurance, checklists, and tips.
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 Abby's Guide »
Buying guides with tips and advice. Also has forums where people can post their experiences and degrees of satisfaction with products they have purchased.
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 Use a mortgage broker. A mortgage broker will show you mortgage products from different banks and mortgage providers. Pick a mortgage broker carefully. If the broker works directly for a company that offers financial products, make sure he shows you clearly why one of these products is better. Mortgage brokers also get a commission on their sales. Find out what the broker's services include and if he charges any fees. Many brokers do not charge fees beyond their commission. Also check the broker's credentials.
Know your credit score before you begin looking for a loan. If you can, try to remove any blemishes from your credit report before applying for a refinance.
Fees are a hidden cost of many mortgage loans. By law, lenders must disclose fees within three days of a loan application. Fees can go by many names like - document prep fees, courier fees, administrative fees, and more.
Before you refinance a loan, make sure that you carefully analyze any fees that your lender is including on the loan. The Department of Housing and Urban Development can provide you with a list of standard fees. Use it to make sure that your lender isn't tacking on anything extravagant. And by all means, compare their fees with other lenders in the market.
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