The New HARP Program

This information is being made available by a former mortgage industry insider (CEO/Vice-President level) who will answer your questions and help you find a home loan specialist in your area. No loans are offered by this site.

The FHFA just announced some major changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program. This may be just the program you need to refinance from a higher rate mortgage into a new, lower interest rate and/or a loan with shorter terms. In fact this plan is formulated to help home owners go from 30 year mortgages to shorter terms. Three main points are you must have good credit, you must have stable income and you cannot have been late with your mortgage payments at all in the last 6 months. On the flip side if there is a reliable Automated Valuation Model available (most medium and larger cities do have) you may not have to have a new appraisal and even if you do there is no LTV limit. Here are the bullets:

• The existing loan must have been sold to Fannie or Freddie on or before May 31, 2009
• The current loan amount must be greater than 80% of the current value (LTV)
• This revamp removes the 125% LTV limit for fixed rate loans (there is no new ceiling)
• Lenders will get a new set of Representations and Warranties (this will affect some who may not participate)
• This eliminates the need for a new appraisal when there is a reliable Automated Valuation Model (AVM) available
• The program extends through December 31, 2013 (and you can bet some people will wait that long)
• This allows people to also refinance into a shorter loan term (because of the lower rates and their DTI)
• The mortgage cannot have been previously refinanced under HARP unless it was from March-May of 2009
• The borrower must be current on their loan payments at the time of refinance
• The borrower cannot have been late on payments in the previous six months and not more than once in the previous 12 months
• If refinancing into a fixed rate there is no maximum LTV
• If refinancing into an adjustable rate (ARM) there is a maximum LTV of 105%
• Condominiums are eligible under Enterprise requirements
• When this becomes available will vary by mortgage lender
• Program participation by lenders is not mandatory

Let me send you some more information about the program and start to investigate if your home qualifies. It does not matter who has your mortgage now if you and your home qualify you can pay that off and help you start saving! I will also match you with an experienced home lender in your area to answer your loan specific questions