And they might ask the bank what it allows as a minimum down payment (the loan-to-value ratio) when writing home mortgages.

The loan-to-value ratio is the loan amount divided by the current market value of the property expressed as a percentage.

If a property has a current value of £200,000 and a loan is required for £150,000, the loan-to-value ratio is 75 per cent.

Previously, refinancing required no more than a 90 percent loan-to-value ratio.

Their loan-to-value ratio would be $126,000-to-$140,000, or 90 percent.

Homeowners can also try to borrow the amount needed to bring the mortgage's loan-to-value ratio to the 80 percent level.

Depending on the loan-to-value ratio, there may be a monthly premium as well.

The lender also may require cross-collateralization and a lower loan-to-value ratio.

The average loan-to-value ratio on new loans was 64 percent in 2008.

Some lenders recently reduced the percentage of a house's value they will loan against, the so-called loan-to-value ratio.