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NEW HARP CHANGES

By
Mortgage and Lending with KEES Lending, Inc NMLS# 235090

Good Morning AR

If you haven’t already heard (And I hope you have) about the HARP Program, which stands for Home Affordable Refinance Program, then you need to google search it before you read any further.

In plain old English, the HARP program is supposed to be Fannie & Freddie’s “Cure” to the current mortgage mess. And for some people it works, but it hasn’t been as successful as we all hoped (ßMy Opinion)

Long and short, HARP allows current homeowners whose homes are owned by Fannie or Freddie to be able to refinance up to 125% Loan to Value. Also the program allows for a more streamline process, for example as few conditions as 1 recent paystub to document income, if the lender does a No Cost loan then no Assets required for PITI, and finally in some cases an Appraisal Waiver. The borrowers original loan, the one they are refinancing out of, must have closed prior to 06/01/2009 for the client to qualify.

 

The way to check to see if your client qualifies is first you must see if their home loan is owned by Fannie or Freddie, to make it easy for everyone here are the links below:

 

http://www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup/

 

https://ww3.freddiemac.com/corporate/

 

Once you have found a match the screen will turn blue and it will indicate that the property is indeed owned by Fannie or Freddie Mac.

 

Below are the new changes effective today. The key changes are NO more cap of 125% LTV + less Hits to rate/fee to clients who refi into a shorter term (i.e. 30 year to 20 year.)

 

HERE ARE THE NEW GUIDELINE CHANGES:

 

The new program enhancements address several other key aspects of HARP including:

 

- Eliminating certain risk-based fees for borrowers who refinance into shorter-term

mortgages and lowering fees for other borrowers;

 

-Removing the current 125 percent LTV ceiling for fixed-rate mortgages backed by

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac;

 

-Waiving certain representations and warranties that lenders commit to in making loans

owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac;

 

-Eliminating the need for a new property appraisal where there is a reliable AVM

(automated valuation model) estimate provided by the Enterprises;  and

 

-Extending the end date for HARP until Dec. 31, 2013 for loans originally sold to the

Enterprises on or before May 31, 2009

 

 

Hope this helps some of you close more deals. If you have any questions please feel free to call me at anytime.

 

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