Good morning! Welcome to windy and rainy Seattle!
I was thinking will HARP 2.0 become HYPE 2.0 instead?
As many of you may be aware, a brand new program called HARP 2.0 will be debuting on Monday. Among the highlights are the ability for homeowners to refinance their mortgage even if underwater with no regard to loan-to-value. The caveat is the mortgage has to be owned by either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (currently 56% of the mortgages owned nationwide are owned by one of these two entities) and must have been originated before June 1, 2009 (If I'm wrong about this date please correct me).
What most of us in the loan business will be looking for are the individual investor overlays. At The Legacy Group we've heard back from a couple of our investors that they will be offering HARP 2.0 for Fannie Mae owned loans. We also expect to have at least one investor sign on for Freddie Mac owned loans.
What's interesting is one of the brokers who sends me email is only subscribed for Fannie Mae owned loans. My point is this. Although we're excited about being able to help borrowers who are underwater not everyone will necessarily sign on and it may not be quite what we think. Add that to the fact that most consumers per a Mortgage Implode poll know little if nothing about this program. It's imperative that we as loan officers spread the news about HARP 2.0.
In theory, it's a great idea and I can think of at least a couple of clients who will probably qualify. But the devil is in the details. If you're a consumer, make sure you choose a loan officer who is knowledgeable about HARP 2.0. As one of my dear friends who is a loan officer said once "this is no time for rookies!" Will HARP 2.0 become HYPE 2.0? Only time will tell. Thanks for reading!
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