Most people know it's important to compare mortgage rates before they purchase or refinance a home. Some may even know to compare fees, points and other costs associated with purchasing or refinancing their home but, there are some things you didn't think about or just don't know. Here they are:

· You may not be able to get or even want the advertised rate.

A reverse mortgage is a loan or line of credit you take against your house from the equity in your house that you do not have to repay, as long as you live there. You can choose to pay it off if you sell your home or you can simply live in your home until you both pass away and the home would then belong to the bank. Remember that you will still need to pay for your property taxes, insurance and repairs.

The Office of the Controller has strongly recommended that credit card companies make their customers pay higher minimum payments, up to double the current amount to try to help us get out of debt. So instead of approximately 2% of your balance, you could pay up to 4%. This will affect at least 7% who currently only pay the minimum and those who can only afford to pay a small portion over the minimum.