Maybe HARP Will FINALLY Work!

Monday, February 06, 2012

by Tonia Vickery

Oh, happy day! Remember awhile back the government came up with the wonderful idea called HARP to help homeowners who owe more than their home is worth to refinance at a lower interest rate? Really, it WAS a good idea, but they added this little caveat of considering only those homeowners who owed no more than 125% of their homes’ current values. With the real estate market having gone through the wringer these past few years, I would dare say that an awful lot of homeowners WISH they owed only 125% of what their homes are worth! 200% is not an unheard-of number, and there are homeowners who owe more due to the dramatic drop in home values. So, in effect, HARP only helped a small number of homeowners.

This year, that 125% limit has been removed. HARP 2 as it is called will provide assistance to distressed homeowners, no matter how far upside down they are, as long as they meet the rest of the guidelines (one of which is the loan has to be backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.) This tweaking of the program may actually help accomplish the goal of keeping families in their homes!

If you want to know if your loan is Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac backed so that you may be able to participate in this program, contact me via phone or email to do a loan look up for you!

by Takaharu

3/15/2012

Thank you for your comments on my blog about the HARP Refinance Program. I’m glad that it will work for you, and yes, you are right it will help some, but not geuonh. While HARP is allowing underwater homeowners to qualify in certain circumstances, without a write down of principle, most underwater homeowners in Florida (over 50% underwater) are still not going to end up getting the HARP Refinance. The other thing that concerns me about the HARP Refinance is that if you are out of a job, or if you are unemployed, you will not qualify for the HARP Refinance Program. And lastly if your mortgage is FHA, USDA or a jumbo mortgage, you are not HARP-eligible.I am a huge proponent of a Principle Reduction Program that will help homeowners here in Florida get back to even so they can start building equity in their homes again. Being so far underwater, the chances are still good that they will end up in a short sale if they need to move in the next 10 years.