As mortgage rates have dropped since 2009, tens of millions of U.S. homeowners have refinanced their homes. To "refinance" is to replace your current mortgage with a new one -- often one with a lower mortgage rate.

Refinances come in three main varieties -- the cash-out refinance, the cash-in refinance, and the rate-and-term refinance.

With a cash-out refinance, a homeowner converts home equity into cash, with no restrictions on how the cash is used. Some homeowners use cash-out mortgages to pay for home repairs; or, to pay for a college or post-graduate education; or, to fund downpayments for a future home purchase.

Cash-in refinances are the opposite of cash-out refinances. With cash-in refinances, homeowners lower the amount owed on the home -- often to eliminate mortgage insurance or to get access to lower mortgage rates. Less than 5 percent of all refinances are of the cash-in variety.

The most common refinance type, then, is the rate-and-term refinance.

In a rate-and-term refinance, the homeowner lowers its loan's current mortgage rate; shortens its loan's term (i.e. length in years); or, does both. An example of a rate-and-term refinance is lowering your mortgage rate from 6% to 4%.

Rate-and-term refinances are available for all loan types, and some versions are "branded", as with the FHA Streamline Refinance and VA Streamline Refinance (IRRRL) programs. The Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) is also a rate-and-term refinance program.

At today's mortgage rates, the typical refinancing homeowner can reduce monthly payments by one-fourth.

Banks are making it easier to get approved for a mortgage today, which is great news for US. home buyers. Low- and no-downpayment mortgages are more abundant than during any period in the last 10 years; and, mortgage rates today are lower than they've been in history.

For buyers with a budget and a plan, buying a home has never been easier.

Home shoppers who want to make the smallest downpayment possible have access to the VA loan and the USDA loan -- both of which allow for 100% financing. Backed by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, respectively, these programs require no downpayment whatsoever and provide flexible approval standards for eligible buyers.

Today's buyers also have access the FHA mortgage which requires just 3.5% down. The FHA is the world's largest insurer of mortgage loans and mortgage rates for FHA mortgages rival the mortgage rates offered on conventional loans backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

Meanwhile, for buyers making a downpayment of twenty percent or more, mortgage options are plentiful, including access to construction loans for financing home improvements.

First-time buyers, repeat buyers, and real estate investors are benefiting from today's low mortgage rates and access to a wide array of products.