Interest rates are low, and so are property values, making this the best time to buy a house. But what if you already own one? In fact, what if your own property just dropped in value and now you can’t afford to refinance? Well luckily the Home Affordable Refinance Program can help you refinance and lock in at lower rates. You can also use a refinance calculator to calculate how much you can save from refinancing.
If you’re among the 4-5 million homeowners who have diligently paid each mortgage payment owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, but owe 80-105% of the value of your home, this governmental program can help. The Home Affordable Refinance program runs through 2010, and can help you depending on a few different factors.
This program is aimed at helping homeowners who owe more on their mortgage than what their home is worth, or for those struggling to make mortgage payments and want to take advantage of today’s lower rates. Depending on your specific situation, you may also qualify for the loan modification program.
Here’s how the Home Affordable Refinance program works:
If you have an income, live in the house you’re refinancing, and the house is worth less than $730,000, you may qualify for this program. In exchange for billions in taxpayer bailout money, banks now offer options to reduce your monthly mortgage payment to 31% of your income. Once you fit the above criteria here are the steps:
There are two parts to this program – there’s loan modification or loan refinancing. The questions below determine which category you fall under:
Are you in imminent danger of foreclosing and have missed payments? Has your mortgage payment increased significantly or can you prove you’ve suffered a hardship (job loss, medical bills, and zero assets) which is preventing you from making your mortgage payment?
If YES: it’s highly likely you qualify for the loan modification program, so contact your banker to begin the process.
If NO: Do you have less than 5% equity (or owe more than your home is worth)? (If you’re not sure how much equity you have, you can check here)
If you have more than 5% equity, the Making Home Affordable Plan is probably not for you, as you need to be in imminent danger of foreclosing or have less than 5% equity. However, now may be the time to look into refinancing to take advantage of the low interest rates.
If you have less than 5% equity, you qualify for the Making Home Affordable refinance plan, so find a home loan expert today to see if the Making Home Affordable program can help you. With interest rates at an all time low, this is definitely a good time to relieve financial difficulties and take advantage of certain perks in a bad economy.
Jenny Zhang is an SEO Copywriter for the Quicken Loans Mortgage News blog. She loves Apple products, and hopes to save the world from PCs and Microsoft products one day.
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Yeah, I’ve been thinking of refinancing. I just need to get my stuff together and do it.
Miranda´s last blog ..Saturday Staples: Personal Finance Reading
If it can save you money then you should definitely take advantage of it!
I’ve actually started this process over the weekend, and I have to say that alot of the information is misleading. Either that or the people at Chase had no clue what they were talking about. I’m one of the ones who has never been late or missed a payment, but did suffer a loss of income for a while so I figured why not. For my situation, it would be simply an adjustment to my interest rate (or so they said), with no fees, closing costs, or appraisals. That is good because the spread on all of those stupid websites that value properties are ridiculously wide. I have seen my property list for as low as $71,000 and as high as $219,500. Talk about confusing! Downside is that it would take 6-8 weeks to even hear back from them regarding the process.
Eric J. Nisall´s last blog ..An Open Letter To The Credit Industry
Wow! That does sound confusing and that seems like an awful long time to hear back. I hope it works out for you.
It’s really confusing when they make it seem like you have to call and go through an interview process to get “pre-approved” (see this title=”page”).
It is quite a bit of time to have to wait, but I’m in no danger. Although I was unemployed for a pretty long time, I didn’t get behind or pay late, just had to use my savings to cover the bills for a while before getting a steady check again.
Eric J. Nisall´s last blog ..The Truth Behind Tax Deduction Advice
I have been going through a refi for about 7 months now
my broker had some major personal issues at the last leg of the refi that postponed it for a few months, not to mention other problems that just kept bumping it back like computer issues, power issues, natural disasters! None of them were my fault, so I am being compensated, but I cant wait till its over.
I’m not part of this program though, as far as I know.
Jesse´s last blog ..5 Ways Being Stupid Will Cost You
Good to hear your refi is moving along even though it’s taken so long.
The government has put some steps to making refinancing easier as far as allowing people to refinance not so strict. Yet, I know the housing marketing is still under valued. As more people struggle with there homes not appraising for what is was even 7 years ago. That is making it difficult for one of my friends to get re financed
Megan´s last blog ..YourNetBiz Mentors Reveal Why Leads Truly Suck
My friend actually went through this and ended up saving a few thousands bucks a month worth of mortgage a month. It’s pretty amazing really…
Hiro´s last blog ..Interview: Karl Denninger The Market Ticker “Return of Capital is More Important Than Return on Capital”