Dude Wheres My Refinance? HARP 3.0 Reality or Wishful Thinking

HARP 3.0 is what people in the industry are calling, is what Obama was referring to last night, in his State of The Union Speech. Every Responsible Homeowner who is able to make their mortgage payments, will be eligible for a refinance, regardless of what the home is worth.

Watching the State of the Union Address last night, one would think that President Obama is winning on all fronts with the way he speaks about everything. What he is asking for however, is a VOTE. On many topics, including increased gun laws, jobs, and more specifically, the allowance of every homeowner underwater on their home loan, the ability to refinance and save up to $3000 a year. For the complete State of the Union Address, click here. I have been doing HARP 2.0 Loans since early 2012, and have a desk draw full of homeowners who did not qualify for the program here in Colorado. Their angst when told they have perfect credit, no late payments on their current mortgage, and solid employment, that I cannot help them is clearly the picture below.

For homeowners who think they may qualify for a HARP 2.0 loan, whether it is owner occupied or investment, you can find out if Fannie Mae owns your loan by clicking here. If you do not find a match there, simply see if Freddie Max owns your loan by clicking here.

These are the simple guidelines that will allow you to refinance your home, owner occupied or investment up to 150% LTV of the homes worth with Freddie Max, and Unlimited LTV with Fannie Mae.

What that means is, if you bought your home for $200,000, and it is worth $150,000, you can refinance to low market rates, and if you aren’t paying mortgage insurance, you won’t pay it on the new loan.

Here are the bullet points to address when applying for a HARP 2.0 Loan.

• Loan has had to be sold to either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac prior to May 31st, 2009
• Must be current on your home loan, with no late payments in the last 6 months

Thousands of homeowners have already been helped since the modification of this program last years, eliminating the need for an appraisal, and granting the homeowner a waiver. I have saved a couple in Golden over $1100 a month, because of their inability to refinance the last 3 years. This is just one of the families I was able to help, however the problem is bigger then we anticipated, and there are still thousands upon thousands of homeowners out there, who are NOT able to take advantage of this program. My desk drawer haunts me of all of these homeowners who I cannot help at that moment, but supposedly will over the course of this year.

HARP 3.0 is what people in the industry are calling, is what Obama was referring to last night, in his State of The Union Speech. Every Responsible Homeowner who is able to make their mortgage payments, will be eligible for a refinance, regardless of what the home is worth.

It should be called The Everyone Else Loan.

These should be the bullet points for this HARP 3.0 Loan

• Loan Amount can be above the conforming limit, ie jumbo
• Pull out the date requirement of when the loan got sold, which is prior to May 31st, 2009
• Relax Debt to Income Ratios – As long as payment is going down, the homeowner is getting relief
• Cut the seasoning requirement on Bankruptcy to 12 month
• As long as there are no lates in the last 6 months, they eligible.

My guess is that Fannie and Freddie Mac will not be a part of HARP 3.0, and it will be the already failing FHA that tries to take the helm on this program, or something completely different, privatized lending.

About the Author

Brian Quigley (NMLS #244003 is an active loan officer with The Mortgage Network.  Email Brian at loans@beaconlending.com

You can also find Brian on Twitter and Facebook.

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Hello, my name is Brian Quigley and I have been in the Denver mortgage industry since 2003. I have been fortunate enough to choose this very rewarding mortgage broker career and help thousands of borrowers over the years. Customer satisfaction is important to me most, and getting my clients to the closing table smoothly. Read More…