New changes have been made to the HARP loan program raising the maximum loan-to-value for refinancing from 105% to 125%. This is beneficial for homeowners who are upside down on their home value hoping to refinance but lack the necessary equity for a traditional refinance.
I’ve found that one of the best benefits to this program is that you do NOT need to get mortgage insurance if your existing Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan doesn’t currently have mortgage insurance. This benefits home owners who had 20% equity or more on their last loan and do not want to refinance knowing they’ve lost value and likely have less than 20% equity (conventional loans with less than 20% equity typically require mortgage insurance).
Here are some examples of where this loan program may benefit you:
1.) You owe more on your house than what the property is worth (up to 125%) and want to refinance.
2.) You have less than 20% equity, want to refinance but do not want to add mortgage insurance to your payments.
3.) You have a first and second mortgage and the combination of those two loans together exceed 125%. If you have two loans and only the first is owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, you must get permission to refinance from your second mortgage company. This is done with a form called a “Subordination Agreement.”
If you’re not sure if this program works for you, talk to a local professional that knows this product well enough to answer your questions.
UPDATE
Many consumers are finding their properties do not show up on the property look up tool listed above.
First, call your loan servicer and see how they have your address saved and retry entering it in the look up tool. If it still does not show up, call Fannie Mae directly at 1-877-722-6757.
New deadline for HARP is June 30th, 2011
http://www.keaneloans.com/2011/03/11/harp-extended-until-june-30th-2012/
RELATED POSTS
Homeowners Guide To HARP
http://www.keaneloans.com/2009/12/18/homeowners-guide-to-harp/
http://www.keaneloans.com/2009/07/28/another-flaw-with-the-harp-program/
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