The effects of the sub-prime crisis are becoming clearer with each passing day. According to the Wall Street Journal, the tightening guidelines and fewer available loan products are creating real  challenges for borrowers with credit issues. If you're planning to  take on or refinance your home mortgage, your credit score will be crucial when it comes to obtaining the best loan program available.

For homeowners with the adjustable rate mortgages or ARMs that are scheduled to readjust anytime within the next 2 to 24 months, the difficulties that lie ahead are even greater. With higher credit standards and tightening guidelines, you may not even qualify for a refinance if you wait too long. At this stage, a fixed-rate loan may be your only chance at creating real financial stability before your loan readjusts and your payment goes up. Many of these ARMS come with pre-payment penalties and even if your mortgage has one, it may be less expensive in the long run to absorb the penalty now and refinance into a more stable mortgage.

In the event that you now owe more on your home than it's currently worth, or if you don't have enough equity to sell your home and cover all the expenses, you need to seek out help NOW. It may also be worthwhile to investigate if your current lender might help by re-setting the loan terms without the complete refinance process. Don't waste time though, the time to act is before this crisis affects your credit and good standing.