How to Score the Lowest 15-Year Mortgage Rate for Your Refinance

Thanks to this year's breathtakingly low mortgage rates, refinancing remains a must for many homeowners — and it has taken on even more urgency as a new fee has led some lenders to push their refi rates higher.

A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage might be a borrower's go-to loan for a refinance. But if you've been in your house a few years, refinancing to a 15-year mortgage can help you avoid dragging out the debt and piling up massive lifetime interest costs.

The monthly payments on a 15-year home loan can be stiffer, but the interest rates are lower — currently averaging an all-time-low 2.28%, nearly one-half of one percentage point less than the typical 30-year mortgage rate, according to mortgage company Freddie Mac.

Even better, good comparison shoppers are finding 15-year loans far below the average, at under 2%. Here are four tips on how you can get the very best deal when refinancing into a 15-year mortgage.