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Great news, American homeowners.

Yes, we (Quicken Loans) have some great news for you. HARP, the government’s Home Affordable Refinance Program, has expanded to allow refinancing of homes with a loan-to-value ratio (LTV) of up to 200%, starting December 11, 2012. In normal English, that means we can refinance 200% of your home’s value.

For example, if you have a house that’s currently worth $100,000, but it’s underwater and you’re sitting with a $200,000 mortgage, we can help you lower your payment to today’s mortgage rates. I hope I don’t have to remind you that mortgage rates are at historic lows. Historic, as in “lowest they’ve ever been.”

I was talking to my sister the other day, and she told me she has a 5.5% 30-year fixed. “Sister, are you crazy? You could lower your payment by more than 1%, at least. Do you know how low mortgage rates are today? You could even go to a 15-year mortgage and barely raise your payment, while cutting off many years of your mortgage. You better get on the phone and call Quicken Loans.”

She did, and she’s happy. Just like you will be when you lower your mortgage payment or cut some serious time off of your mortgage when you refinance with HARP.

In order to take advantage of today’s rates with HARP, here’s what you need to do.

1. Verify your loan is owned by Fannie Mae. You can use the Fannie Mae loan look-up tool.
2. If it is, contact us immediately.
3. We’ll do our best to save you some serious money.

That’s it, friends. A simple, three-step process where you’re very happy when you make it to step 3.

In the meantime, here are some HARP FAQs, for those of y’all with questions:

What is the Home Affordable Refinance Program?
Simply put, HARP gives homeowners who owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth the opportunity to refinance and take advantage of today’s amazingly low mortgage rates.

I’ve tried to refinance in the past and haven’t been eligible. Why is this different?
Fannie Mae has recently announced changes to HARP and expanded the program to help homeowners who have not been able to qualify for refinancing in the past. Quicken Loans now offers HARP refinancing up to 200% of your home’s value. Owe $300,000 but your home is only worth $150,000? No problem, we can probably help.

The value of my home has decreased. Will I still qualify?
Yes, this program was put in place specifically to help homeowners who have a good mortgage payment history even though their home value has decreased.

What about hidden fees? Will I have to pay any of those?
We set realistic expectations up front so there are no hidden fees or surprises. This program is designed to let us refinance your loan at a significantly reduced cost. We want to help you save money as easily and as fast as possible.

Why should I refinance now?
There are so many reasons, but here are just a few:

• This unique refinance opportunity is only available for a limited time.
• Rates have hit rock-bottom, historic lows, and we don’t know how much longer they will stay this low. The lower your rate, the less your monthly payment is, period.
• You’ll save money every month. Think about what an extra $200 a month could do for you. That’s nearly $2,500 a year!
• You can refinance into a 30-, 25-, 20-, 15-, or even a 10-year fixed-rate mortgage.

Good luck, friends. Don’t wait. Take advantage of HARP and historically low rates today.