The HARP loan program is underway and going strong.jpg)
We have been taking applications for those of you who qualify for HARP refinancing of your current mortgage since May 1, 2009.
HARP is the Homeowner Affordability Refinance Program being offered for those homeowners who do not otherwise qualify to refinance their current home loan. Whether you watch the financial news programs such as CNBC or Bloomberg TV, or listen to the local news, I’m sure you’ve heard about government programs aimed at helping those who need help to take advantage of low mortgage rates, but do not qualify. This loan program is a fantastic opportunity for those of you with mortgages owned by either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
If your current loan is owned by either Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae you might be eligible to refinance your home with HARP funds. We have several lenders offering this program NOW. To find out if Fannie or Freddie owns your current mortgage, click on the links below and complete the short online form.
http://loanlookup.fanniemae.com/loanlookup/
https://ww3.freddiemac.com/corporate/
You will get an immediate online response. If you get a no response but believe that could be an error, your current loan servicer has this information, and is required to tell you.
This loan will refinance your 1st mortgage only (if you have a 1st and 2nd mortgage, the 2nd mortgage will remain as it is). We can finance up to 105% of the current value of your home. (You may have heard that HARP loans are available up to 125%, but no lenders are making mortgages that far under water yet). This loan is for those who:
1. are under water - owe more than the house is worth
2. have an interest rate higher than prevailing interest rates
3. have an ARM (adjustable rate mortgage) that has re-set or will re-set shortly
4. want to refinance, but because your house loan to value ratio is now above 80%, will be required to pay mortgage insurance, making the refinance transaction not worth the closing costs. NO MI is required for HARP loans)
5. are not eligible to refinance due to a decrease in monthly income (job layoffs, shorter hours, etc). However, you will need to show that you can carry the new monthly payments.
If your current mortgage payment includes mortgage insurance, or “lender paid mortgage insurance,” I’m sorry but this is another case where lenders are not doing these loans yet, in spite of technically being available. The problem here is that the approval will always come back requiring mortgage insurance, but there are no private mortgage insurers willing to take on this risk.
(Some of you may have Lender paid mortgage insurance and not even realize it. Here's a hint - if your loan IS owned by Fannie or Freddie AND the original loan amount was greater than 80% of the appraised value of your home, AND your monthly payment does not show a private mortgage insurance component, it is almost guaranteed that your loan DOES have lender paid mortgage insurance.) Please feel free to contact me if you aren't sure. I can help you figure it out.
Investment properties were often sold to Fannie or Freddie. If you own investment property, you may be eligible for the HARP loan. However, you may be limited to choosing only ONE loan to refinance through this program.
Some of the great features of this type of refinance transaction are:
- Generally lower closing costs
- Generally more lenient underwriting
- Sometimes no appraisal is required
- The same low rates that conventional loans qualifying for a conventional refinance transaction would get. This includes adjustments for credit score, type of property, etc.)
- If your loan is owned by Freddie Mac, you may not be required to prove income. NOTE: If your loan is owned by Freddie, you will have to do your refinance through your current loan servicer. However, Fannie loans can be done by any lender offering this program.
- NO MORTGAGE INSURANCE (even if you owe more than the house is worth)
- With a Fannie loan, all your closing costs can be included in the mortgage, so, except for a credit report fee and appraisal fee (if required), this loan does not require cash up front.
Remember, the goal of this loan is to reduce your current payments. There is a maximum of $250 Cash out allowed.
It is still possible that current loans with mortgage insurance, and/or loans for up to 125% of the current valuation may become eligible for HARP financing soon, so please keep checking back. I will definitely make that announcement as soon as I hear more.
Please check out the update on this program posted 12/13/2009
The HARP loan program has been a dismal failure.
The HARP loan program and discount points - why discount points?
Comments
We are one of the unlucky who carry LPMI and were turned down on our HARP application by Chase, our servicer, for this reason.
What a shame, the 4% rate we were initially offered would have solved our problems. We are heartbroken and hope this "glitch" can be remedied eventually, as I' m sure many equally qualified people have had the same thing occur. We have great credit, income,etc., but are about even with mortgage and home values.
I can't believe it was the government's intention to lock us out of these programs!
Hi Elizabeth
As a mortgage loan officer, I can tell you that I personally have about 10 prior clients in the same boat as you, and I know the list is a long one. The problem is that this is not even logical. If you are now no more underwater than someone who didn't have LPMI or MI originally, why should your refi have different requirements? It really shouldn't make any difference anymore how much money you put down to get your mortgage. If you've been paying on time monthly, and you qualify otherwise, you should get this loan. I will defrinitely post an update if this requirement changes, so stay tuned. shelby
I have been offered a HARP streamline loan from my lender but they are telling me that I have to pay almost $10,000 in fees to buy points. Is this normal for this loan.
Mark - Why are you buying points? Are you trying to buy your rate down? which is what buying points usually refers to. Is this your own home, or an investment property?
I would need a lot more information to answer your question properly, but to be honest, I have never heard of having to buy points for a HARP refi. Is your loan owned by Fannie or Freddie? Give me a call if you want to discuss this more, so I can understand your situation better. 503-819-6545
I am married, but the mortgage and deed are only in my name. I do not pay PMI. I am looking at lowering payments through HARP. We manage our finances separately, but will they consider my spouse's income and debts as well for this program? I have good credit,income has been reduced by child support reduction, and mortgage and home value is about the same, but according to their eligibility calculator, I could have my payment lowered by $400. Does it make a difference that we live in a a non community state? Also, I am on an adjustable that changes each month and is around 4% right now.
kim - if your current rate is around 4% right now, i have no idea how a refi will lower your payment. That said, rates will not stay this low - so if you qualify for a HARP refi, you should probably go for it. If the loan is in your name alone, your refi can be in your name alone as well.
hope this answers your questions
If my A loan is a mortgage and my loan B is a home improvement loan (they called it a second mortgage) and I refinance my loan A using the HARP program, will my loan B then become my loan A. I'm wondering if the order will flip flop once the loan A is paid and refinanced. Possible problem is on the home improvement loan they gave us a lump sum of money that went into our checking account and we paid the contractors directly for the improvements. Would this prevent us from qualifing for the HARP loan?
Susan
If you have a first and second mortgage combo, the HARP loan will apply to your first mortgage only. Your second mortgage holder has to agree to re-subordinate that mortgage behind the refinanced loan. That shouldn't be an issue since the 2nd mortgage holder was in 2nd place anyway. Nothing changes for that lender with this refi. Your lender should handle the re-subordination for you.
Shelby, thank you so much for your articles. They have been very helpful in trying to sort out all the contradictory stories circulating about how to get a loan modification or refinance. I am working on the Information application with Chase. They told me there it would take a "while" for them to get to my application and to keep calling, etc. Point taken. I continue to get solicitations from a Calif company who does HOme Relief and is moving to an attorney only company. They insist I will get nowhere working with my lender, only make my situation worst. I am running out of time here, but can't see giving them dollarsy for a 'maybe". STill I have read so many posts about people getting nowhere with their banks, is this still the case or are things a little more organized with the Treasury Dept. now? I am making my payments (interest only) but things are very tight, been out of work for almost 6 months, any suggestions?
Hi Elyse
Of all the big banks, I have heard that Chase is the best to work with. The secret, I'm told, is to keep calling, every single day. Unfortunately the big banks do have such a huge number of people who need help that they are overrun with applications. The other sad thing is that unless you become delinquent, the odds of your getting a modification are almost impossible, even if you are out of work.
The good news that I am hearing is that most banks are not reporting delinquencies very quickly anymore. I can't guarantee that. If you're still making payments, does that mean that you haven't missed any payments yet? You won't really get their attention, if that is the case, until you do.
Do you have any other source of income? If not, I don't know how you will qualify for a modification. YOu should be following my other column that I keep more up to date than this one. www.examiner.com/examiner/x-21893-Mortgage-and-Housing-Examiner.
Hi Shelby,
I tried to use this program to lower my interest rate on my 1st. However, the bank told me since my loan is owed by Washington Mutual, I can't take advantage of the HARP refinance option. This seems so unfair because I am under like everyone else. Do you see this provision changing in the future? Thanks!
Benny
Thanks so much for writing. I have just written a review on the HARP program today, on my other column as National Mortgage and Housing Examiner, called "The HARP loan program has been a dismal failure." I've attached a link to that article at the end of this article above.
The truth is that of the 4 -5 million home owners this loan program was supposed to help, less than 120,000 borrowers managed to get an approval on this loan.
Washington Mutual is now owned by JP Morgan Chase - who are supposedly doing the HARP loan - but click on the link above - banks just arent' doing this loan.
That may change after today - Obama is meeting with banks again to try to get them doing something to help home owners.
good luck to you
Help: I have been denied a HARP loan because my former husband's name was removed from the original mortgage. My name was on the original mortgage and I meet all other qualifications for the loan. Well Fargo tells me "Assumed loans" are not eligible. How/who do I contact to request an exception? I am the original purchaser. marylynmassey@hotmail.com
Hello Shelby,
I read your most recent article on the HARP "failure" but felt this one was a better fit for my question. You said some Investment properties are covered.
We own a property that is cash flow positive but is on a 5 year arm ( up in 2012 ). It is causing me a great deal of stress just thinking about what rates could be like and the fact they require 40% down now.
How do I know if I can qualify for this program on the property
Thanks
John
You might qualify if you meet the requirements shown in the article above. The fact that your loan will reset in 5 years helps, but is your loan owned by either Fannie or Freddie? That's step one and the most important. The links to both Fannie and Freddie sites are above, and it takes just minutes to check.
I don't know enough to know if you meet some of the other requirements, such as - how many investment properties do you own? There are limits.
Have you checked with your lender?
The other thing you should know is that there is a huge rate hit for investment properties under the program. You will NOT get the best rates out there.
I hope this helps.
Marilyn
One of the provisions of the HARP refi is that none of the original borrowers names can be removed from the loan. I'm sorry - they are not making any exceptions on this loan that I have heard of - in fact there are so few people qualifying that it's actually a huge disappointment - hence the article above "The HARP loan is a dismal failure."
Still banks are announcing that they are extending the time deadline on this program until mid 2011. I haven't heard that any guidelines have changed, so I don't know the reason for the extension -except perhaps that there is still so much money available for these loans.
I bought a town home 2008 april for 730k, but the value seems to be around 600k, and I have two loans (BofA) - one is 417k and other 165k(home equity). Looks like my home loan is from Freddiemac. I am regularly paying the mortgage and no default. My question is, do you think will I be eligible for HARP? If so, can I have one jumbo loan together? Would you able to help? Thanks! for the great article.
Sarnam
Technically you should qualify for the HARP program, but with Freddie Mac owned loans, you have to deal with your current lender directly. No - you cannot combine the two loans. There is a cap on HARP programs of $417,000, plus Freddie HARP loans cap closing costs that can be wrapped into the loan, so it is likely that you will have to take cash to the table to refi your current loan. Hope this helps.
Have a condo that when we bought it initially, it was going to be owner occupied. Due to circumstances, we never moved in and eventually turned it into a rental. We have a 30yr Conv. Jumbo ARM at 6/125% and our original mortgager will not refi under the HARP. It is a Freddie Mac with PMI. Are we being mis-informed or do we fall thru the cracks in getting help?
Debbie
For all of you who are trying to qualify for the HARP refi program, and have PMI, the bad news is that almost none of you will qualify for this program. Please re-read the article. New PMI is required to get a HARP refi, and almost no insurers will insure properties that are underwater - the risk is too high, and Private Mortgage Insurers (PMI) have been hard hit by the housing crisis.
No you're not falling through the cracks - you are just being denied. Technically these loans do qualify, IF your lender works with a PMI that will cover your loan. I have no advice on how to battle this, except to advise you to continue to look for other lenders who might be able to get a loan for you. There are a few out there, so keep looking.
Good luck to all of you.
My husband bought our home before we were married - only he is on the mortgage. We are NOT in trouble paying our bills, but want to take advantage of prevailing lower rates. Wells Fargo says we don't qualify for HARP because my husband won't qualify in his own (new vehicle loans in his name), and we can't add me (I make a higher paycheck) to such a loan. Is this correct? They are telling me that to add me, we can only refinance 97% of the value of the home, and our last appraisal puts us right at what we owe! Help! Such a shame that we can't qualify for lower interest rates.
Wells Fargo tells me that even though my credit score is high my house value is not in the 20% bracket and I would pay a higher rate and closing cost to even get a lower payment if it were possible.Other banks will not loan because I have been told I need to stick with the same Bank the Mortgage is thru.Wells Fargo told me that the HARP program does not give you a better rate just makes refianancing easier.Do not understand Gov Programs.Just go by what the Banks tell you.
Hi Shelby,
I try to refinance our mortgage loan but until now no luck, they always ask for latest paystub and hardship letter and the answer is always sorry after reviewing your file we found out that you are not qualify, then I read this HARP but what I read, this is only for Fanniemae or Freddiemac loan, how about those mortgage not covered by this program, do they can apply too? Thanks
i am divoiced the home loan is in the exs name an i am unemploryed an i cant get a loan can u help me
I am trying to refinance under the HARP program but am being told that since I have private mortgage insurance, I will not be able to get a loan since no bank will cover the loan. I guess the banks don't want to write private mortgage insurance as it will be over and above the value of the house. Is there any way around this or any bank that would cover the loan?
Can we still not refinance if we have lender paid PMI or has that changed yet.
Only a small handful of lenders are doing HARP with PMI.
Here's a petition to help homeowners refinance their HARP loans with PMI.
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/harploans/
My lender, chase, called me and offered me a HARP loan which would lower my interest rate from 5.625% to 5%. I mentioned to her that I was looking into an offer I recently received through my work for educators and she was emphatic that I check back with her before signing anything with them. She implied that she may be able to beat whatever rate the other program offered. Is this true? Does the lender have the ability to negotiate a rate through this program? She also told me I had to act fast on her offer because the 5% could go up without warning. Is this accurate or am I dealing with someone looking to close a deal fast? Thank you for your help
`what exactly does the Harp program do to help. After calling i was given a spiel by a gentleman about Harps Affordable Plan to help Fannie Mae mortagages etc.
He made it sound as if HARP was a special program that was to to offer me a much lower rate thus reducing my payment. Turns out this was just another re-financing company- offering the same 5% i was offerred by several banks outside that will not be of any assistance to me..offering the same 30 year mortage at 5% ... How is HARP different from a regular lender if they are offering the same as everyone else.
can i get a harp loan if i granted my mom life estate? i was told by chase that i have to remove her from the deed in order to get the harp loan does anyone know why
I'm just getting back to work and my income is very small I did a lot of work on my house last year would I be elgible for HARP, since my income has dropped dramatically? I know time is running out, and I'm really hurting trying to continue paying this high interest rate. I owe taxes, and haven't done W2's for last 2 years. I have a mortgage from 2001, in an rental and my primary property had since 2004 with the same high rates from those years please help, am I elgible to refinance with HARP, how do I start this process
Is a conventional loan considered for HARP?
I attempted to refinance with Wells Fargo (WFHM) in 2010, but I was not told about HARP when I initially inquired although I specifically asked about the streamlined programs. When my appraisal came back at about 110% LTV, I was denied the traditional refinance. When I later tried to take advantage of HARP, the recent appraisal had to be used according to WFHM policy and the interest rate they offered was about one percent higher than the existing rates at that time. That appraisal which would not have otherwise been required under HARP has prevented me from being able to refinance. I filed a complaint with the BBB but it seems that WFHM has successfully prevented another customer from getting HARP.
So it appears HARP has modified rules, but they STILL won't allow LPMI to refinance.
That's a shame, because I would be paying a lower rate and PMI out of my own pocket if I knew LPMI would stop me from refinancing my 6.75% loan! My house is severely under water and just going to a 4% loan to what I owe would save me $650 a MONTH!
Why isn't there ANY way out for loaner paid mortgage insurance? BPMI is allowed to refinance, why not LPMI?
We own a townhome and it is in my husband's name. We have never been late on a payment. 2 out of the 4 units in our complex went into foreclosure and one just currently got listed for 100,000. We pay PMI and are way upside down now on our home. Do you think we would qualify for HARP? And if so, to get a better understanding, is a HARP basically taking the loan and just extending the term which in turn reduces the interest rate but the same amount will be paid in the end?
I've read some information on the bills.com site (http://www.bills.com/lpmi/) that suggests that the new Obama changes will address LPMI. I'm trying to find out the details. What's written here and at Bills suggests it is the lenders that are refusing the LMPI. Maybe it's a bird in the hand for them, as it would be just the same as BPMI. Or perhaps there's just no BPMI out there?
I thought HARP made all those things possible. Those of us with LPMI are getting shafted by our lenders. We should be refinancing right now but for this inane, dense, unyielding world that is mortgaging.
I'd love any expert feedback on what is happening with LMPI and the new bill. If it's in there, I'd like to know what it says and how I can use that to get my lender - good old Chase - to roll me into HARP.
Hello ~
I was actually contacted this morning by my mortgage company, Wells Fargo. They called to offer me HARP refinancing, which would lower my rate to 4% (currently at 4.65%), but I had heard about rates as low as 3.9% recently. Using conventional refinancing methods, that was not any savings to me, so was surprised to get this call. They have quoted to me 0 points, 0 closing costs, no appraisal - it won't cost me a dime to refi, and I'll get the lower 4% rate and lower my monthly payments. I kept saying what's the catch???? Is there something I'm missing or they are not telling me?
Thanks for your help.
Hello Shelby!
just like the first homeowner comments, I'm having so much trouble trying to reduce my rate and monthly payments. When the HARP 3.0 came out, I thought that was going to help me and that finally I had options, but they turned me down because I have PMI, even though I always paid my mortgage on time. I'm at 7.5% and at least $70K under water. If I was to short-sale on my home, what are the damages? how long does my credit will be affected? what happens to the difference between the value and owed? My brother is on my loan and that is the reason why I don't want to short-sale, because he was kind enough to co-sign for me to help with the credit score issue that I had back in 2007, but he is not on the deed of the home? would it affect his credit as well? and is there any way that I can remove my brother of the loan, other than refinancing (since is not my option)? Sorry, to throw all those questions to you, I just don't know who to turn to anymore!
Thanks for your help!
Hello... hoping Shelby or someone else knowledgeable can help me with some questions. My uderstanding is that HARP 3.0 is not yet available. Am I wrong? I read that the difference with this program is that it does not have to be a Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae loan. It is also my understanding that either HARP 2.0 and/or 3.0 DOES NOT require the property to be owner occupied. WELL... WILL HARP 3.0 EVER HAPPEN????? AND IF SO, WHEN? AND IF NOT, WHY NOT? I have two single family rental homes in MA & N.H. and neither are Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae loans so it is very frustration! Both rates are is the upper 6's. They are at least fixed. Neither property is under water and there is some equity in both homes (not a lot but some). I have excellent credit. I could save several hundreds of dollars if I could refinance to even a 5% fixed APR. So I am waiting patiently for this HARP 3.0 and keeping my fingers crossed. Any updated info would be greatly appreciated.
I have tried to get HARP refi on 3 rentals with Wells Fargo since October 2011 but denied since Freddie Mac does not allow refi when I have more than 10 mortgages whether Freddie or Fannie. The interest rate is 7.1 with PMI since I purchase the homes new in 2007. I have never been late on any loans including credit cards, but somehow Wells Fargo is not allowing refi. Please advise when no ther bank wants to do refi because I have over 10 mortgases. Please advise. THANKS! . I also just read the following: .................If you are refinancing a Freddie Mac investment loan on the Same-Servicer program, there’s no limit to properties financed but there is a limit to 4 on the Open-Access program. If you have more than 4 properties with a loan on them, you can only refinance a Freddie Mac HARP loan if the loan was originated as a rental property originally and through your current lender on the Same-Servicer program
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