Home Affordable Refinancing Program loans delivered to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after Jan. 1 will come under new representation-and-warranty standards that could give the refinancing program a boost in 2013.
Details to follow!
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Details to follow soon!
To quote Jim Cramer of CNBC, “Your Nuts, Get in the Game!”
Today, some people may think of Cramer as nuts. He predicted this morning that the 10 year would go to 1% (just like it is in Germany). With that being said, we could see the 30 year mortgage go to the 2’s.
Is he nuts?
Yes, there were bad unemployment creation numbers on Friday. Why? Because of government layoffs to satisfy both budgets and the will of some constituents and the lack of construction jobs nationwide.
Add that to the EuroMess that could make China and the U S suffer even more and what we might see is the flight to quality, the U S Treasury continue.
There is not a lot of reason to buy the broad stock market for return right now and the plethora of spec money goes to tech.
So I say, why not. Get the rates into the 2’s. But, let’s have a full on HARP program, not the joke that Fannie and Freddie has make of it. Repeal HVCC and LO Comp and let the markets handle reality, institute a merger of all the government mortgage agencies into one and have a set of guidelines that private investors can have as just a backstop to finance real loans.
On the other hand, job creating is the primo issue. Can we have a tax credit for those companies that can repatriate say 1000 jobs or more back tot he U S in manufacturing and tech support?
There are many, many smart people with ideas that just can’t seem to get the ear of people in DC. Let their voices be heard, drop the rates and let’s get NUTS together!
Finally.
Yesterday, I was called by a journalist who found me somewhere to talk about the HARP 2.0 program.
Since I opened this blog a few months ago, I have gotten great traffic. HARP is hot and information is hard to find, especially details.
You have to read very deep into Freddie Mac’s guides to see the issues related to things you would never have thought about. But, through my
investigation, reading and resources, I have been able to uncover items (like the ratio limit and the revolving credit issue) to make sure that
people do not apply for a lona that they will never get.
I am open to speaking to radio, TV, web, bloggers or industry professionals to share all I know about HARP2.
Please call me at 215-852-4469 or email fred@usloans.com.
Remember the attractive girl that went out with you in high school that doesn’t look that nice now and she is stalking you on Facebook?
If you have a HARP2 eligible loan with a second mortgage, you may feel the same.
If you qualify for a 1st mortgage refinance but have a current second (no, they cannot be rolled in), you will have to ask and probably beg for the 2nd mortgage lender to do what is called subordinate.
All that means is that since that loan was recorded behind the 1st mortgage (hence, 2nd), they would agree to allow the new first mortgage to be ahead of them in priority.
When HARP 2.0 was announced, part of the announcement said that the HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit) and HELOAN (Home Equity Loan) lenders where asked to be lenient with subordinations since they would actually be in a better position than they are now.
But, alas, 2nd mortgage lenders and especially PNC have been horrible to deal with.
I had an email exchange with someone trying to get their PNC HELOC to be subordinated and where told no over and over. They claimed there was a third party that would not allow it along with other corporate speak to try and make people just go away.
What can you do? First, contact your U S Congressman. They each have a person that deals with real estate/mortgage finance situations. If they start hearing from many people about the same companies over and over, they can put pressure on these organizations to do the right thing.
Go to the branch (if there is one in your area) and sit in the manager’s office until you get a positive result. Make sure an bring cranky kids, etc., anything that will make them get the deal done so you have to leave!
Lawsuit- yes, you can try a small claims action or a class action suit. Although lengthly and costly, this may be the only way to wake these people up. I am not a lawyer and can’t give you specifics, I can, if you email me, recommend attorney that do class action suits to see if it is possible.
No clear answers, but keep fighting the fight! Good luck!
House in Inman Park (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Interesting article about the number of people that may qualify for the Harp 2.0 loan.
Can you imagine if each of them averaged $100 per month savings? That would put $2,300,000,000 back into the economy! $2.3 billion into an economy would probably build about 100,000 jobs.
Sweet!
Follow this link for the article: CoreLogic: 2.3M homeowners may qualify for \\\’HARP 2.0\\\’ | Inman News.
I am doing a refi on an investment property under the Freddie HARP program, aka Relief Refinance.
Freddie, Mercury, not Mac!
This will be my first one as an investment under this program.
Having heard all the horror stories about Freddie, I was happy to get a STREAMLINE ACCEPT as the documentation level for the ACCEPT risk class findings. I thought for sure there would be some silly reason they would not take it.
A little history on this deal. I actually started this last year as a “real” refi when we got hosed by an appraiser would came in $15-20k less than the home was worth. OK, no more complaints about that. Now the good news. Since they took the loan out before June of 09, I was able to squeeze this in under HARP2!
Now for the head scratching……..the value per the approval came in at $168650 but the approval said we need an appraisal even though we uploaded it with a value (per the appraisal) of $143,000. And, the approval asks for an appraisal. HUH????
Here is the cut and past from the approval. Any ideas?
Y0 168650.00 is the HVE point value estimate of the subject property.Y1 0.334 is the HVE Forecast Standard Deviation of the HVE point value estimate of the subject property.
Y2 Low is the HVE Confidence Level of the HVE point value estimate of the subject property.
Y4 The HVE point value estimate returned does not indicate Freddie Mac‘s acceptance of the appraised value or purchase price entered for the subject property. The Lender will continue to be responsible for the property appraisal as well as representations and warranties of the appraisal, regardless of the HVE Market Value.
Y5 The percentage difference between the estimated/appraised value or purchase price and the HVE point value estimate of the subject property is -18%.
So to recap. The real appraisal is 18% less than the Freddie computer said it was yet they require an appraisal. Am I missing something? The program specifically does not really need appraisals.
I’ll keep you posted on this one!
The Ups and Downs of your Credit Rating (Photo credit: GDS Infographics)
It’s not in the HARP guidelines, but if you’ve had a bankruptcy and you meet all the criteria for the program, the Fannie Mae DU and Freddie Mac LP will pick up through the credit report the discharge dates.
You need to have 4 years of time between you and the discharge date in order for the computer to give an Accept finding.
A lender may do a manual underwrite and approve the file, but their liability on a file like that would increase. Also, since they are busy enough with better quality loans, there is almost zero chance that any lender will take the loan.
Time. You’ll have to wait it out until the 4 years are up, then you can do the refi. If you have any questions about your credit, you can get a free report once a year at http://annualcreditreport.com
Just when you thought your loan was all set to go to Fannie Mae for a refi when they pull this mumbo jumbo on you:
(Photo credit: roselia)
Under the HARP2 FAQ for lenders updated on March 15, 2012 here is what they say about the inelgibility of “credit enhancements“Your loan has been denied because it was part of a mortgage pool where Fannie cannot allow refinancing under HARP2.0. To quote Fannie’s own guides:
page 18
https://www.efanniemae.com/sf/mha/mharefi/pdf/refinancefaqs.pdf
Q56. Are existing loans with lender-paid pool insurance coverage, investor-paid (i.e., Fannie Mae–paid) pool insurance, or other secondary market coverage eligible for Refi Plus refinances?
Most existing Fannie Mae loans with lender-paid pool coverage (sometimes referred to as GSE pool insurance), investor-paid pool coverage, or secondary market agreements (to the extent the secondary market coverage reverts to the original primary MI) are eligible for the Refi Plus DU and manual underwriting options.
Existing loans that had these types of credit enhancements added after loan closing, and the coverage was necessary to meet Fannie Mae minimum credit enhancement requirements applicable to loans with LTVs in excess of 80%, remain ineligible.
Lenders may contact their account teams to discuss other options for refinances of existing loans that have these forms of alternative credit enhancement arrangements, including options for loans that are excluded from the eligible DU Refi Plus database.
What? What a load of ca-ca.
I found out about this at this website where a people in Arizona were denied. Read the full story by clicking here. You’ll see how the headlines of making people believe their loan can get done when in fact it can’t is disturbing.
Fannie needs to step up, do these loans. Figure out a way. Their smart people there, at FHFA, Freddie Mac and in Congress. The White House wants this to work and I also call on them to adjust the program to make it easier.
How about allowing these loans to go FHA? It would be exactly the same as doing an FHA streamline refi without appraisal.
Yes, it is time to begin HARP 2.1.1
Thinking about refinancing with your current lender for your HAR2 loan?
That may not be the best way to do it.
First, they may be flooded because people think they need to go back to the lender to get a HARP loan.
Second, you will not get high touch, personalized service.
Three, you will not get the best rates because brokers can shop different lenders to find the best rate AND the best company.
Sadly, someone did have a bad experience going right back to their lender. Read this horror story: Wells Fargo Refinance or HARP2.
I now have a Fannie Mae lender for PA, VA, FL and CA that will do unlimited loan to values for primary or second homes unless it is a condo where the maximum loan to valueis 125% (unless a fieldwork waiver is offered on final submission- whatever that means).
The Colonial Revival headquarters of Fannie Mae, designed by architect Leon Chatelain, Jr. in 1956, located at 3900 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., in the Cathedral Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
As for you investors, I still do not see anything over 105%
As for Combined loan to values (where you have an existing second mortgage, owner occupied and second home is unlimited, investors to 110% CLTV.
Other important details include:
-Ratios under 50%
-Minimum credit score of 620 on primary, 680 on 2nd homes
-1-4 units owner occupied, 1 unit for a second home and 1-4s for investments
So much more that I won’t bore you with but the bottom line is, pay attention to the details!
HARP2 by Fred Glick 