When it first arrived a few years ago, the HARP refinance program was a very popular way for homeowners to refinance if their underwater on their current home loan. This article is a reminder that the program is still available, but will finally end this December.
The HARP refinance program is a program that has allowed millions of homeowners the option to refinance and take advantage of today’s low interest rates, with little or no equity in their homes. In addition, the program also has served a need to help homeowners in other difficult situations to refinance as well (such as those who have had a foreclosure, short sale or bankruptcy recently).
The HARP program is a government backed initiative to allow borrowers who could previously not refinance, due to lack of equity or being upside down in their homes or in some cases credit issues, to now do so.
For homeowners whose mortgage loan is serviced by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, there are no restrictions on value. In other words, the current appraised value of your home will not disqualify you from refinancing, regardless of value.
There are of course certain other guidelines that must be met to qualify for this refinance program.
First, your home loan must owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and must have been acquired by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac prior to June 1, 2009. Even though you may make payments to a loan servicer, if you have a conventional loan, then it is probably owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
To see if your loan is owned by Fannie Mae you can go directly to: http://www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup and input your property information. While to see if your home is owned by Freddie Mac, you must go to: https://ww3.freddiemac.com/corporate/ and enter personal and property information.
Now, if your home loan does fall into these guidelines, then you will be eligible to refinance into a current market interest rate, which still sit at very low historical levels, generally without any out of pocket costs.
As always for full qualification, of course it is always advisable to contact a licensed mortgage lender, such as Strategic Mortgage.
For more information on current home loan programs and options for existing and potential home owners, please contact Bill Kamboukos of Strategic Mortgage at (480) 219-3682 or by emailing: info@strategicmtgaz.com or online at www.strategicmtgaz.com
Strategic Mortgage, LLC - NMLS#158804- Equal Housing Lender – AZBK#0909514
Vasilios Bill Kamboukos Jr – NMLS#160440
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