The new form of the bill would implement some major changes to open up the program to even more American homeowners who are facing underwater situations with their mortgage payments. Perhaps the biggest change that could come out of this bill is the change in the loan to value or LTV. The LTV would be placed at 140% instead of its previous 125%. Another great step is the extension of the eligibility date. It has now been moved to May 10, 2010 to allow for even more homeowners to join the program. The reason this date was chosen was due to the fact that most homeowners that purchased homes after this date had already received a mortgage rate lower than 5%.

There are a couple smaller changes as well worth noting since they are definite advantages for anyone who has yet to take part in HARP. First up would be the removal of verification requirements for things like employment and income (state income loans could make a comeback). The other change is that anyone who requires a manual appraisal will have the fee of the appraisal completely waved.

If you are looking for some more information in regards to HARP or refinancing your mortgage then get connected with a licensed loan officer today by calling 1-800-555-2098. Alternatively you could fill out the form below to be contacted via email.

HARP Questions?

Just like the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), that was recently instituted by the U.S. government, to help homeowners with mortgage loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, an FHA Streamline Refinance is the option for homeowners with FHA loans.  Homeowners with mortgages insured by the FHA can now refinance regardless of their home’s value through the FHA Streamline Refinance program.

Do I qualify for an FHA Streamline Refinance?

Eligibility for a streamline refinance loan is very straight forward.  First of all your loan must currently be an FHA mortgage.  The second most important factors to qualify for this loan is that all mortgage payments for the past 12 months must be on time with no 30 day late payments.

Other eligibility factors include:

• You have to be the owner of the original property for the past six months, minimum.
• You’ll need to be sure you have an FHA-approved lender.
• This program doesn’t require loan appraisals, but any no-appraisal loan must not exceed the total amount of your current mortgage loan.
• Any possible closing costs must also be paid up-front or paid for you by your refinancing lender (ask about our zero cost loan options).
• You cannot reduce the term of your loan (a 30 year fixed must stay as a 30 year fixed loan).

Benefits of this program include:

• No appraisal fee
• No Application Fee
• No closing cost options
• No loan-to-value (LTV) limitations
• Low interest rates

This is another great step in the direction of repairing our housing market, which has taken some major blows over the past decade.  It wasn’t just the housing market in general that has been affected though; homeowners have been experiencing the crunch of the economy on their wallets.  Every expense people make has a far greater effect today than it did just ten years ago.  So why not save yourself some money now and even more in the long run?  If your Michigan property’s loan is owned or guaranteed by the FHA then take advantage of today’s low rates immediately by contacting licensed loan-officers at 1-800-555-2098.

Ready to refinance your mortgage?

A bailout coming from the banks is definitely not something we are used to hearing.  As we just recently had an unprecedented amount given to these banks after they made their own mistakes.  Luckily the initial bailout from the government seems to be working and the banks are realizing that was the one lifeline they would be given and are now looking to turn things around.

Now it’s known that big businesses can move fairly slow at times that is why a plan will be put into place to encourage the banks to get to work right away.  If they get enough work done in modifying and refinancing loans within the first year of the settlement, they will be given additional credit.

One big change from this settlement actually has nothing to do with money itself.  The banks agreed to leave their old ways of handling foreclosures.  According to a state attorney, the banks handled foreclosures by cutting corners and even using robotic signers.

A few details about the settlement are some pretty nice numbers for homeowners.  Its expected $20,000 will be the average-principal reduction for each borrower.  Responsible homeowners will receive benefits as well as three billion will be assigned to refinancing mortgages for homeowners that are current on their payments.

There will be some actual cash changing hands it seems at $1,500 to $2,000 will be given as compensation to those homeowners who lost their homes to foreclosure in 2008 through the end of 2011.

Michigan mortgage refinance questions?

A recent Freddie Mac report showed some great statistics for those who have and are looking to refinance.  In the fourth quarter of 2011, a reported 85 percent of homeowners who refinanced were able to maintain near the same loan amount.  Others were able to lower their principle balance by paying extra money at the closing table.  Both of which are some great news for homeowners as this is a 26 year high for refinances.  Exact numbers state that 37 percent maintained their same loan amount, while 49 percent were able to reduce their principle balance.  The latter percentage that represented those “cash in” borrowers was the highest throughout the past 26 years.

Now what about “cash out” borrowers?  Anyone that increased their loan balance near five percent accounted for 15 percent of all the refinanced loans.  That again is the lowest percentage throughout the past 26 year analysis.  When 1985-2010 is compared to 2011 alone, the truth is in the numbers.  For the entire 26 year span; “cash out” borrowers had an average “cash out” of 46 percent.

When it comes to 30 year fixed rate mortgages, the numbers began to switch around as well.  The average reduction towards interest rates was 1.4 percent, which equates to a 26 percent savings in interest rates.  Now over the first year of a refinanced mortgage, it’s estimated the average borrower will save upwards of $2,700 in interest payments on a loan of $200,000.

If these numbers are any indication of things to come in the beginning of 2012, it seems we will continue to reach record numbers.  Be sure to take advantage of these amazing numbers by refinancing your home.  If you would like some more information regarding refinancing, feel free to call 1-800-555-2098 or fill out the email form below.

Refinancing questions?

As the President Obama sends the plan for this new initiative to Congress, we’ll go over exactly what this entails for American homeowners.  This new plan could help homeowners save upwards of $3,000 per year on their mortgage payments by refinancing and taking advantage of today’s already historically low rates.

This new proposal would allow millions of American homeowners to refinance any mortgages that are NOT owned by either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.  This is a MASSIVE change from the previous requirements, which stated your loan MUST be owned or guaranteed by either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

Now the question remains, “Who out there will administer the program?”  That question still remains to be met with a definite answer.  It’s possible the Federal Housing Administration, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac could administer the program so that part of the bill will likely remain up in the air until Congress could potentially come to a clear conclusion of the new plan.  The question that remains to be answered exactly is, “Who or what will be responsible for funding this program?”  As of this point, it seems a tax on larger financial institutions will be instated to help support the program.

An estimated total of 1.5 million borrowers would be fully eligible to take advantage of the refined program.  If all those borrowers took advantage of these refinancing options, there would be a total of $5 billion to $6 billion saved annually.  There is also the potential that another two million to three million other borrowers could become eligible for the same program.  That is, if President Obama’s plan allows for underwater borrowers who have an unsecured mortgage sitting within a bank portfolio.

Be sure to take full advantage of these amazing opportunities the instant they become available.  Honestly, who wouldn’t?  You have the potential to save thousands every year and all you need to do is contact Riverbank Finance to begin to take advantage of these historic programs by refinance your Michigan-based property. Call 1-800-555-2098 or fill out the form below.

Questions about the new program?

What’s the major change that is being made to HARP though?  That would be the elimination of the 125% LTV cap.  This is great news for many “underwater” homes-owners out there.  We’ll see countless borrowers become relieved of some major stress in their lives now that they have the option for a refinance.

Now of course this is some great news for people, but this still doesn’t mean everyone is capable of qualifying for a potential refinance under HARP.  There are borrowers with an LTV under 125% and they don’t currently qualify for the program.  Don’t fret though!  Multiple changes are being made in March along with the change to the LTV cap.  So if you don’t currently qualify, hold-off until March when the AUS-engines are updated and check again.

The first thing you should to ensure your Michigan property is eligible for HARP is to check if the loan to your property is owned or guaranteed by either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.  There are a couple ways you can verify this information.  First, by checking one of the two following tools for both companies:

• Check Fannie
• Check Freddie

Your second option is to actually call 1-800-7FANNIE (Fannie Mae) and 1-800-FREDDIE (Freddie Mac).  As long as you call anytime between 8AM and 8PM ET, you’ll get the information your looking for.

Something else you may want to be conscious of is the potential date the loan was sold to either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.  Any loan that had been sold by the investor to either of the companies on or any time after June 1, 2009 is NOT eligible for HARP.

Be sure to take full-advantage of these reduced guidelines as soon as they’re instated.  Who knows, you may actually be eligible for HARP right now!  Be sure to contact a Michigan certified loan-officer officer either by calling 1-800-555-2098.  Or simply fill out the email form below and you’ll receive a response ASAP.

Loan-Officer Email Form

To begin, the biggest change that can be found within HARP 2.0 is who exactly is eligible for the program.  The previous cap has been lifted so now there is no cap whatsoever.  That comes for the people with traditional 30-year fixed rate mortgages.  Even those people with the less common 15-year fixed loans can now benefit from HARP 2.0.  The other restriction to the program is that the only people eligible to take advantage of HARP 2.0 are those borrowers whose loans are held by either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.  Now to go one step beyond that, you must have made all your house payments within the last six months and that a single payment did not arrive tardy in the past 12 months.

It’s highly recommended that you take full advantage of the refined version of HARP if you’re in a mortgage situation that you would like refinanced. If you’re a Michigan-homeowner that fits into the above criteria and you would love to refinance your mortgage interest rates, either call Riverbank Finance: 1-800-555-2098.  Or fill out the email form below and a loan officer will be in direct contact with you.

HARP 2.0 questions or advice needed?

Get answers for your question on the expanded HAPR mortgage