• Tweet

• Tweet

Great news will come out of Las Vegas this week for those of you who cannot qualify for refinancing your mortgage.

Why Las Vegas you ask?  Nevada has been one of the hardest hit states when it comes to foreclosures.  One in every 118 homes in Nevada received a foreclosure notice in September.

Should I try to come up with some witty cliché that ties mortgages into gambling?  Nah, I’ll spare you.

Anyway, back to the details.

President Barack Obama will announce changes to the government’s Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) today with the hope that homeowners will be able to take advantage of low interest rates and refinance their old, high interest mortgage rates.

So, if you or your family is underwater in your mortgage right now, you might be able to come to the surface and catch some air.

Currently, only those who are underwater 125 percent or less of the market value of their homes are able to refinance for new loans. According to reports, the new rules would lift that ceiling. Full pricing details are expected to be published in mid-November.  Although people looking to take advantage of this particular change may have to wait until early 2012, the majority of the program will be in effect as soon as December.

Like any new regulation, there is plenty of fine print to take a look at.  The new plan requires homeowners to be current on their payments.  Additionally, it is only applicable to loans sold to Fannie or Freddie by May 31, 2009.  For the loans that aren’t backed by Fannie and Freddie, there will be a separate settlement that might throw in some mortgage modification elements, but that is only speculation up until this point.

If all goes to plan, the move could have a major influence on the U.S. economy.  There are $550 billion worth of mortgages that could be helped if refinancing was an option.  Currently, around 894,000 homeowners have taken advantage of the HARP program.  After the changes in refinancing standards take effect, it is anticipated that millions more would now be eligible.

So stay tuned into the Zing! Blog for more information about the new changes to the HARP program or call one of our Home Loan Experts today to see if you qualify!

Eric Mally is a writer for Quicken Loans, a company whose clients believe it’s Engineered to Amaze.  Interested in being Amazed by us? Read trusted reviews at our review site and at Epinions.

 Printer Friendly Version