Back in 2009, the Home Affordable Refinance Program (otherwise known as HARP) was born. This is a government-run program that allows home owners with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loans to refinance at a lower interest rate, even if their home is way under valued. HARP recently got a face-lift. It used to base qualifications on a 125% loan-to-value, but this criteria is now off the table.
In order to be eligible for HARP, one must:
- Have a loan backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (check with your lender or take a look at their individual websites to find out if you have one of these loans).
- Have a loan with a securitization date prior to June 1, 2009.
- Be current on payments for the prior 6 months and at least 11 of the most recent 12 months.
- Have not used HARP before. This is a one-time deal, folks.
The good news is that home owners who are current on payments but are living in a home that is way under valued can still refinance to get a lower interest rate. There is no more loan-to-value restriction! Note that this program is not intended to stop or delay foreclosures.
For a thorough guide to HARP 2.0 in layman’s terms, check out this article by Dan Green.
Any news on helping the mutiltudes of us that need to refi that do not have government loans as JessaJO stated above?
Sure would be nice if there was something like this for those of us in loans not backed by the government. . . .