The federal government announced changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) on Monday, with improvements intended to allow more people to access the program and reduce those borrower's monthly payments.
The Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) was first created in 2009 to provide relief to borrowers who owed more than their homes were worth due to the home mortgage market collapse. The original Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) reportedly only reached one-tenth of the homeowners it was intended to aid. The original Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) allowed borrowers with mortgages owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to reduce monthly payments by refinancing into short-term mortgages.
The changes will cut fees for borrowers who want to refinance and allow people who owe more than 125 percent of their property's assessed value to access the program. To be eligible for the new-and-improved Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), your loan-to-value ratio must exceed 80 percent. Also, borrowers cannot have missed a payment in the past 6 months or more than 1 payment in the past 12 months. If you previously refinanced your mortgage through the original Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), you are not eligible to take advantage of the new program.
The first step to accessing the new Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) is to see if your mortgage is owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and was purchased by either on or before May 31, 2009. Borrowers should then contact lenders that offer Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) refinances.
Final changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) will be announced and implemented by the Federal Housing Finance Agency in November.
The Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) was first created in 2009 to provide relief to borrowers who owed more than their homes were worth due to the home mortgage market collapse. The original Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) reportedly only reached one-tenth of the homeowners it was intended to aid. The original Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) allowed borrowers with mortgages owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to reduce monthly payments by refinancing into short-term mortgages.
The changes will cut fees for borrowers who want to refinance and allow people who owe more than 125 percent of their property's assessed value to access the program. To be eligible for the new-and-improved Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), your loan-to-value ratio must exceed 80 percent. Also, borrowers cannot have missed a payment in the past 6 months or more than 1 payment in the past 12 months. If you previously refinanced your mortgage through the original Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), you are not eligible to take advantage of the new program.
The first step to accessing the new Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) is to see if your mortgage is owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and was purchased by either on or before May 31, 2009. Borrowers should then contact lenders that offer Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) refinances.
Final changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) will be announced and implemented by the Federal Housing Finance Agency in November.
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