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In the hunt for the lowest mortgage refinance rate, there are some things you can control and some you can鈥檛. Rates moving up just when you鈥檙e about to refi? Can鈥檛 control that.

But there are at least 11 things you can do to get the聽.

Get the credit you deserve

The best way to earn the lowest rate on a mortgage refinance is to knock out the dents in your credit score and polish it up. Some steps can be as simple as making timely payments on your existing debt and perhaps paying down some balances. Other moves, like these three, take a bit more effort:

1. LOOK FOR ERRORS IN YOUR CREDIT REPORT

鈥淭he other day, I ran credit for someone who had a state tax lien and a charge-off,鈥� says Mary Anne Daly, senior mortgage advisor for Sindeo. 鈥淭hey said, 鈥楾his isn鈥檛 mine. I don鈥檛 know anything about this.'鈥� Daly says credit report errors happen more often than you might imagine.

Daly also cites clients who had a 623 credit score. Their credit report had mistakes, and the customers wondered if the improvement in their score would be worth all the effort to correct them. By wiping the errors from their history, their credit score improved to 660, and the borrowers saved $95 a month on their home loan.

2. KEEP CREDIT CARD BALANCES BELOW 25% OF YOUR AVAILABLE CREDIT

Daly also says to consider asking your credit card providers to increase your available credit. Using a smaller percentage of your available credit lowers your聽聽and can earn you a better interest rate.

3. DON鈥橳 QUIT USING CONSUMER CREDIT

Paying off consumer credit can be liberating, but continue making small purchases on your credit cards from time to time. Even if you pay the balances off each month, it shows you manage debt responsibly, which can actually improve your credit score, she adds.

Choosing the right refi loan

Another way to get the best refinance rate is to select the right loan product:

4. BE WARY OF 鈥淣O-COST LOANS鈥�

鈥淭hat always tickles me,鈥� Daly says of such loan gimmicks. 鈥淭here are no free lunches.鈥� All lenders will charge fees, whether they are paid upfront, rolled into the loan balance or built into the loan鈥檚 interest rate.

In fact, Joe Burke, a loan officer with Guaranteed Rate in Chicago, says paying closing costs out of pocket can lower your interest rate.

5. RESIST THE URGE TO TAKE CASH OUT

A cash-out refinance will raise your interest rate, Daly says.

6. CONSIDER A SHORTER LOAN TERM

Burke notes that expanding your loan term may not be in your best interest.

鈥淚f you鈥檝e already paid seven years into a 30-year fixed, for instance, putting you into a new 30-year fixed may not be the best financial decision,鈥� he says.

Moving from a 30-year mortgage to a 20-year or even a 15-year term can earn you a lower mortgage interest rate.

鈥淎 lot of people don鈥檛 know that,鈥� Daly adds. She tells of customers who聽were considering several options on a mortgage. They had 10 years left on their loan, and they thought it wouldn鈥檛 make sense to refinance. Daly showed them that refinancing to a 10-year loan term with a lower mortgage rate would save $45,000 in interest, without significantly changing their monthly payments.

鈥淭hey were just thrilled,鈥� Daly says, 鈥減aying a little bit more [each month] but saving all of that money.鈥�

Time is money

And there are occasions when saving money can be a matter of good timing:

7. HUDDLE WITH YOUR LOAN OFFICER ABOUT WHEN TO LOCK IN YOUR REFI RATE

鈥淪ometimes, believe it or not, we have a little bit of a crystal ball鈥� about how mortgage rates may behave in the very short term, Daly says. That can be tied to major economic news, policy announcements or government reports.

8. RESPOND QUICKLY TO DOCUMENT AND INFORMATION REQUESTS

Quick answers聽can save you the cost of paying for an extended rate lock period if the paperwork process bogs down. It might even be a good idea to stay available and in town during a refi, Daly adds.

9. CONSIDER THE FUTURE

鈥淥ne of the questions that we鈥檙e always asking people is, 鈥楬ow long do you plan on staying in the home?鈥欌�� Burke says. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 a very important question that a lot of people don鈥檛 ask.鈥�

For example, if you know you are going to be selling your home in five to 10 years, an adjustable rate mortgage, with an introductory rate lower than that of a fixed-rate loan, may be the right choice, Daly adds.

You have to apply yourself

And finally, snagging the best refinance rate takes finding the right lender and the right mortgage professional:

10. SHOP RATES 鈥� 聽AND KNOW WHAT THEY MEAN

Advertised rates that seem unusually low may have聽聽built in 鈥� that鈥檚 when you pay upfront to get a lower interest rate. For the lender, factoring in discount points may be a ploy to drive business, but for borrowers, the points can be a part of a loan strategy.

鈥淢ost of the time, we find that the buy-down doesn鈥檛 make sense,鈥� Daly says. To see if discount points work in your situation, consider your monthly payment savings against how long it will take to recoup the fees 鈥� and how long you expect to stay in a home.

Burke says borrowers often fixate on a low rate but miss important details in loan terms disclosed in the fine print.

鈥淟ooking at APR is absolutely one of the best ways to go,鈥� he says. The stated annual percentage rate of a loan includes the interest rate you鈥檒l pay on the loan, plus all fees. You鈥檒l have to complete an application with each lender you鈥檙e considering to get all the information that impacts your offered APR.

11. FIND A SAVVY MORTGAGE PRO

That means 鈥渕aking sure you鈥檙e working with somebody that鈥檚 reputable and isn鈥檛 just hanging teaser rates out there for you,鈥� Burke says.

And you want a knowledgeable loan professional who鈥檚聽willing to help you find your best rate. As an example, Daly points to government-backed loan programs that are offered in some regions.

鈥淭he mortgage professional has to know to look for that,鈥� she adds. Daly says she鈥檚 had clients who would have ended up with a higher mortgage interest rate if their loans hadn鈥檛 been flagged as being in an eligible area for one of these programs.

Hal Bundrick is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email:hal@nerdwallet.com. Twitter:.

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