There are several interlocking reasons to consider refinancing your mortgage. When rates are low, you can lower your monthly payment and/or the total amount of interest you will pay over the life of the loan. You may also want to take out some equity to finance home improvement projects or pay off other debts.

If a mortgage refinance is being considered to consolidate existing debt, there are a few negatives that should be taken into consideration.

Refinancing your home is very document intensive. You will need to reproduce all the personal information you provided when you purchased your home. Also there are loan fees attached to home refinance that should be considered.

All that takes time and can cost you a substantial sum of money before the process is complete. You'll want to be sure to run some realistic calculations before making a final decision. Online calculators to help you do that are readily available.

Some decide to take the plunge of refinancing their mortgage simply to get out from under credit card debt or other loans that carry high interest rates. That is a big step to take. There are other much simpler ways to payoff high interest debt.

If you have reasonable credit and some equity, you can get a second mortgage or a homeowner's equity line of credit (HELOC). The rate may be slightly higher, but you will find the effort is considerably less. It also protects you in case of financial reverses. Provided you continue to make the primary payments, if you slide for a while on the secondary you are unlikely to be at risk of losing your home.

Before considering a mortgage of any kind, it may be better to try reorganizing your existing debt and make an effort to pay it down without making another loan. A restructure of existing debt, reducing the total balance, renegotiating interest rates or payments, is an option worth trying.

By making a new loan to try to solve the problem you dig yourself that much deeper into debt. It may be necessary but should be the last option you consider, not your first choice.