What is the Home Affordable Refinance Program, and how does it Work

Posted by Mortgage Trees on July 18th, 2019

What is The Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP)? HARP is a refinancing federal mortgage program that helps homeowners who are struggling to pay their mortgage due to unexpected financial hardships. The overall purpose of the loan is to help homeowners get out from under their current mortgage situation. The benefits of the Home Affordable Refinance program is:

•  Lowers your mortgage rate.
•  Shortens your loan term.
•  Transfers an adjustable-rate mortgage to a fixed-rate loan.
•  Bundles closing costs into the new loan.
•  Requires less paperwork than a traditional refinance, making the application process smoother.
•  No minimum credit score is required to qualify
•  No closing costs required.

Do you qualify? There are specific qualifications that homeowners must do to apply for the program. Those include:

•  The current loan value must be greater than 80%. Meaning it is underwater. During the HARP program process, an appraisal will determine your homes current value.
•  The borrower must be current on the mortgage at the time of the refinance with no late payments past 30 days in the previous six months. This is so that you can demonstrate you are capable of paying your loan on time.
•  The borrower must not have a previous HARP refinance more than once. With expanded eligibility, more people can benefit from HARP even if they have previously been declined.
•  The borrower must have no more than one late payment in the previous 12 months.
•  The borrower must have a reasonable ability to pay the new mortgage payments.
•  Your loan is owned or backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
•  Your home must be your primary residence, a second home, or investment property.

How to apply? To apply for a HARP loan, you will need to gather your financial and loan information such as mortgage statements, including information on a second mortgage, recent pay stubs, tax returns, etc. Mortgage companies will claim they are not participating in the HARP program even though they are required to. You should look for a mortgage company in Utah that is eager to service your requests. Once, you find a reliable mortgage company; they will let you know what you need and what to do to apply.

The bottom line is that there is hope if you feel you are “underwater.” HARP has helped more than 3.4 million borrowers reduce their monthly mortgage payments, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency. If you have a solid history of on-time payments, owe more on your house than it is worth, and meet all other requirements listed above. Contact a reliable Salt Lake City mortgage company like Mortgage Trees, to get started today.