FHA provides refinance help to underwater homeowners
By Diana Perkins on September 8, 2010, 7:46 pmWith the mortgage market facing a sudden crisis, more homeowners are finding it difficult to sell off their homes. According to a survey done by an organization, the demand for single family residences have dropped to a 15 year low. Home purchases have fell 12% in the month of June and are likely to fall more. In the month of July the number plunged almost more than double and reached a 27%. It is seen that one among five homeowners have fallen back on their monthly mortgage payments and are seeking a refinance.
According to the recent news, foreclosures are expected to rise severely this year and also in the approaching year. With such disheartening statistics of increasing foreclosures, homeowners are not left with many options. But fortunately though, refinancing your current mortgage is perhaps one of the best options and the most viable one to adopt by a homeowner. The underwater homeowners who lack the ability to arrange their monthly mortgage payments are taken care of by the US government. The government programs are making refinancing possible, especially for underwater owners. Nowadays borrowers do not require having an FHA insured loan to qualify.
Low mortgage rates are certainly the strong factors that boost the popularity of refinancing. The confirming rates are 4.125%, which is slightly higher than last week’s record low that was at 4% with 0.7-1 points on origination. A mortgage loan officer has reported said that he has been seeing a significant rise in the number of applicants for refinancing because the mortgage rates are so low. The Mortgage Banks Association (MBA) reported that refinance applicants increased by 17% and caused an increase of 13% in the total mortgage applications.
The previous year Obama administration had launched a refinance program called the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), to help underwater homeowners refinance their mortgage. This program lets homeowners breathe free as it allows those homeowners who owe more on their homes than its current market value, to refinance their mortgage loans into better terms and conditions. The HARP does not allow any reduction in the mortgage amount but it permits homeowners to take advantage of low interest rates on their loans. This program is also beneficial for interest-only borrowers, adjustable rate mortgage borrowers and balloon payment borrowers because they can also reduce the interest rates throughout the term of the loan.
The eligibility criteria of the HARP are not a very complex one. The owner of the house should be the primary occupant of the house and must be current on his mortgage payments. This means that he should not have missed on his monthly payments on the mortgage for the last 12 months. The amount owed on the mortgage should not be less than 125% of the current market price of the property.
The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has recently announced that it’s expending its refinance program. A new rule will be applicable from the September 7th, 2010, where the FHA will offer non-FHA borrowers, who are underwater on their loans but current on their loan payments, the opportunity to refinance into a FHA Short Refinance option. If the prospective borrowers have to qualify, the lenders must agree to write off at least 10% of the unpaid principal of the mortgage. The borrowers are also required to meet the standard FHA underwriting requirements, occupy the home as a primary residence and they should have a good credit score.
This can be good news for those distressed homeowners who are denied loan modification by their banks. Interested borrowers typically see financial hardship primarily due to loss of income. These are the homeowners who will greatly benefit from the FHA Short Refinance Program.
Related posts:
- FHA Offers Assistance To Homeowners Troubled By Foreclosure-Refinance
- FHA Refinancing Help Might Save Some More Home Foreclosures
- Refinance Rates: Be Sure To Catch Them Before The Market Goes Up
- Be Smart If You Are Thinking Of Refinancing: Refinance Rates Are Good
- Refinance Rates May Help Homeowners Out Of Debt At A Critical Time
This program makes no sense at all from experience most home owners who is under water has poor credit period . To be current on your mortgage & having not missed a payment very few home owners will be able to get help. I am seeing home owners daily who are at their wits end .The FHA guide lines clearly states you dont need a FICO score to apply for a mortgage people need help the FICO score & the restrictions are the reasons why so many walk away rather than seek help
Great program. Responsible citizens who have been paying their mortgage while underwate need assistance. It will help stimulate the economy if banks participate in the program.
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This is all fine and good.. but not one article bothers to tell you who to contact to even try to qualify for this program. I don’t understand how good, honest homeowners can’t get any help with a refinance. All I want is a decent loan with a normal rate.
I am a little upset at all this bailout stuff. I bought a home that I knew I could afford. It is not big or new. The mortgage people said we qualified for a lot more money than what we wanted but we took a manageable amount. I am not underwater. I am a responsible tax payer who is pumping money towards the problems of others. Well, what about me? How about a tax break for people who did not spend more than they could afford? I know some people got caught but did you really need that 2,500 square foot home in the first place? And when you knew you were paying a lot more for the house to live in that area…did you really need too or did you choose to do that? It may sound like sour grapes but what every happened to live within your means and buyer beware?
Mike, I purchased a home that was at the right price for this area… it wasnt more than I could afford, it wasnt more square feet that I could handle to be in but today’s market has dropped so drastically my house is no longer worth what I would owe on it, there for being “underwater”. I pay my bills on time, every month, oh and I pay taxes too, but my mortgage company will not allow me to refinance my home because of the market at this point… I know that maybe you might just make a little more or pay a little more than others but for those normal income, recently single parent of 2 children, I have no choice but to remain in my home because I cannot sell it at a loss. So, if this deal was actually offered and followed by the mortgage companies as opposed to putting so many restrictions on things, I believe that it would help the economy and housing market. No, you dont want to just give it to anyone, you want to give it to those who have truely paid their bills on time, and truely is in a situation where their house has now been reduced in value. Guess next time I will purchase a shack so I can make sure it doesnt go… underwater!
The majority of people I know that are upside down are indeed trying to remodify, the banks just give you the run around, alway needing futher information, been going around a year for me, I guess Mike is right, I keep my mortgage payment 2mo. behind, when I was current no one would talk to me, call me irresponsible because I will not pay for a home i’ll never own, over 150k under.
It isn’t just the irresponsible ones who are underwater, as suggested by the other “Mike”. I am currently underwater, which for those who don’t understand means that the mortgage is higher than the current value of the property. It has no bearing or implication on buying what you can’t afford. I have a high interest rate compared to current rates, though it was “normal” for the time I got the mortgage. The problem is that now, being that the market has fallen so drastically, the value is now below what is owed, and banks will not refinance a mortgage like this. I bought what I could afford, but since it wasn’t 10-15 years ago, it hasn’t been paid down much yet. I would like to refinance to take advantage of lower rates, but can’t. Mind you all of this is through no fault of my own. I bought what I can afford and have been current on payments since month 1. The issue is I am being forced to spend thousands of dollars a year extra because the current loan doesn’t qualifyf or refinance. Someone explain to me how THAT is fair?
i am in the same situation as mike. and no it’s not fair! i am current and always pay more than i need to. i would like to refinance for 3 points less and can’t because the value has fallen about half what i paid. it was crooked to start with the banks and appraisers. i have never been late am current and can certainly pay the mortage but because the value is so low they will not refinance. even though they’ve already lent me the money! same bank! wtf? haven’t i proven myself? my perfect credit score, extra monthly payments?
i just want a better rate like everyone else. i didn’t buy more than i could afford, and i don’t owe a tremendous amount of money. it’s rediculous! hope they do something for us soon.
Mike, shut up. If you’re not underwater, you should thank God that your neighbors haven’t lost their jobs and had to short sale their homes. You think your great financial planning is what kept you from going up-side-down in your home?? You need to look up how an appraisal is figured.
Look who took the crisis the hardest? Middle class Americans (I.E. those that are in homes anywhere from $200,000 – 500,000). Its not that those houses aren’t valued as they were before 2008… it just shows they have no market of buyers anymore. So good job Mike, you’re $50,000 home I guess was a good investment. Good thing you didn’t get luxurious and go for the $65,000 house.
@Trapped…I feel your pain. I also bought what I could afford at the time. However, now my income has dropped (budget cuts in education), my husband’s hours have dwindled (AC Tech)and the bad economy has negatively impacted our salaries. Eespite the lowered income, we HAVE been making all of our payments on time. We would love to refinance at a lower rate to help compensate for the loss of income. However, our $250,000 home now has a market value of $117,000. I owe way more than it is worth. How the hell are we ever going to get that back? Never, so at least I was hoping to refinance at a lower rate, but like you said, banks would rather you go through a “short sale” then to refinance or renegotiate your current loan.
I owe 97,000. Oct 2010 a home a couple doors down sold for 9,500. All of us will be paying these bad loans for the rest of our lives and never be able to sell,retire, nothing.I was injured at work,part time job.Im on workers comp,so I had to stop my day job(contractor) because its fraud to work while on workers comp 450 a month.Come March, I’ll get a forclosure notice.To all the greedy criminals who put me here,you won,I give up.Hundreds of hours on the phone didn’t do a thing,even when I wasn’t behind.No help from any program.There is always some loop hole that wont grant me any help.I feel like walking into the wilderness.Its to hard to be human anymore.It’s ashame.
This sounds all good and all but last year we contacted our Bank for assistance ,making homes affordable .They said the only thing they could do was to refinance us and give us a lower rate which was wonderful, unfortunately they shorten the term which made our payments higher.Fear of our interest only loan we agreed. Since then I have lost my job when I contacted the bank for help they said they couldnt help us we had to purchase our home prior to 2009 to qualify for making homes affordable. Well, We purchased our home in 2006 but since we refinance in 2010 thats what they go by. We have never been late on our mortgage but there is no help out there for us since we refinance 2010. I still have not found a job and now Im in fear we will probably loose our home while ppl around us dont pay their mortgage and get a reduction. Something just seems wrong with this picture. smh.I guess we’ll be walking in the wilderness with the previous post Mike .