Ask and You Receive

If you didn't get around to askingyour bank to modify the interest rate onyour mortgage the last time rates wentdown, you might want to think aboutdoing it now. With the rate on a 30-yearfixed-rate mortgage back down toaround 5.25%, a phone call to your bankmay be worth big bucks. Today's banksare reluctant to give up a good customerand might be willing to bend a bit onyour rate to keep your loan on theirbooks. They may even agree to a ratemodification without asking you to gothrough the hassle and cost of refinancing. Be polite, but if the bank doesn'twant to budge on the mortgage rate,bring out the big guns and threaten torefinance elsewhere.