At Palm State Mortgage Company, February has brought us some clients whose hearts were on fire for refinancing.
They wanted more information about the HARP program. So we dedicate this blog to acquainting you with some details about the HARP Mortgage Program.
If your heart’s on fire for refinancing your home loan, then this Valentine month might be the perfect time to begin the process.

What is HARP?

Put simply, “The Home Affordable Refinance Program, also known as HARP, is a federal program of the United States, set up by the Federal Housing Finance Agency in March 2009 to help underwater and near-underwater homeowners refinance their mortgages.”
Today, if you are current on your mortgage, and you have a mortgage that is owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, you might qualify, even if you owe as much or more than your home is currently worth.

What are the Benefits of HARP?Consultation about Harp 2.0 and Refinancing home.

If you qualify for the HARP program, you might be able to save some significant money in your family budget in one or more of these ways:
1. You might be able to lower your monthly payment, which is a number one reason to refinance your home.
2. It is possible HARP can reduce your interest rate.
3. You might be able to lock in a “fixed-rate mortgage that won’t change over time.”
4. HARP can sometimes lead to your building equity faster—This is because “shorter term options may be available.”
5. When you refinance through HARP, you might enjoy lower closing costs “because an appraisal is not usually required.”

Changes To Touch Your Heart: HARP 2.0

The new, simpler HARP 2.0 guidelines encourage more loans than last year. Even if you were previously turned down for HARP, you might meet the new requirements.

Changes You Need To Know:

1. By the new rules, there are no longer underwater limits.”Borrowers will now be able to refinance regardless of how far their homes have fallen in value.” In the old days, previous loan-to-value limits were set at 125 percent.
2. 2.0 brings new freedom from appraisals and underwriting for most homeowners. Eliminating these steps will make your refinancing process quicker and easier.
3. There might be risk-based fees for borrowers, but in many cases these fees have been trimmed.HARP Re-financing Loans Approved!
4. Save A Tree! HARP 2.0 brings you less paper work involved in the income verification step of your loan!
5. Now there is also an option “for qualifying a borrower by documenting that the borrower has at least 12 months of mortgage payments in reserve.”
6. The deadline for HARP 2.0 has been extended to Dec. 31, 2015. Valentine’s month is the perfect time to begin getting paper work in order.

Check out this reliable online source for frequently asked questions about the HARP 2.0 program.

Please feel free to call Palm State Mortgage for more information if you want to prepare for the HARP program or learn about other types of refinancing options.
We will speak to you heart to heart and define your mortgage situation. Then we will proceed to find you the best possible sweetheart of a lender for your needs.

Palm State Mortgage thanks you for reading our blog, and we hope you will return for Part II of our topic on obtaining a HARP loan, in which we will discuss eligibility for your refinancing through this program.

Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!