Obama’s Making Home Affordable Program WILL Help You Refinance
Posted on | March 6, 2009 | 16 Comments
The home affordable refinance program will provide up to 5 million responsible homeowners the opportunity to refinance at lower mortgage rates. Mortgage rates are currently at historical lows but homeowners who currently owe more than 80% of their home’s value find it very difficult to refinance. Many responsible homeowners have seen the value of their homes drop due to the struggling economy and horrible housing market. The Obama Making Home Affordable Program will help these individuals refinance if they took out loans that are owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
For many families, lowering their mortgage rate could save them over $100 a month in their mortgage payment; annual mortgage payments could be reduced by several thousand dollars. The Obama administration hopes that these moves will help the overall economy allow Americans to spend more of their paycheck on things other than there mortgage payment.
Fannie Mae release Refi Plus updates recently. Highlights of the Refi Plus program include
- Expanded opportunities for Fannie Mae to Fannie Mae refinances through Refi Plus (manual underwriting) and DU Refi Plus
- A solution for borrowers with LTVs above 80 percent who currently may not be able to refinance because of existing MI coverage requirements
- LTVs up to 105 percent on the new loan and additional underwriting flexibilities
Now is a great time to refinance if you have been a responsible home owner so get out there and do your research. Make sure to read the government site FinancialStability.gov.
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16 Responses to “Obama’s Making Home Affordable Program WILL Help You Refinance”
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March 10th, 2009 @ 1:54 am
Try http://www.making-homes-affordable.com/ for a breakdown of the bailout program.
March 10th, 2009 @ 6:37 pm
I moved for my job 2 years ago I moved from TN for a job in FL and was unsuccessful in selling it for the first 16 months, so I rented it out, but at a $500+ loss each month. I rent in FL, so the TN house is not my primary residence. I have been late on payments and in fact Countrywide Mortgage gave me a loan for the 2 months that i could not pay the mortgage. Would be able to qualify to refinance, restructure? Or is there anything about thed Save My Home plan that could assist me?
March 10th, 2009 @ 6:51 pm
Linda, you are the type of home owner that this plan is going to help. Contact your lender and it is likely that you will find that you can refinance at a much lower rat than you currently have. You will also find that your mortgage payment will be reduced to 31% of your monthly salary.
March 11th, 2009 @ 3:12 pm
[...] Obama’s Making Home Affordable Program WILL Help You Refinance [...]
March 19th, 2009 @ 3:22 am
This is really interesting for me, since I haven’t really seen or felt anything significantly different or good from the Obama administration yet. I support the president though. So if this works out, I think this will be one of his and his administration’s best moves so far.
March 20th, 2009 @ 8:31 pm
I currently am in a subprime mortgage – My now exhusband and I purchased the home while in bankruptsy. The bankruptsy discharged in June of 08. We also divorced in October of 08 – with me receiving the house and the responsibility of the payments – my income is substantially less than his was; however I have been able to keep the mortgage payments current as this is really the only debt that I have. Just that I have nothing extra for anything other than the house payment and utilities. I currently owe $130,000 for the house and it is value now at $124,000. My salary for the year is close to 27,000. Would I qualify for any help from President Obama’s Mortgage plan?
March 20th, 2009 @ 8:51 pm
As long as you have been current on your rate and you owe less than 105% of the homes value, you can qualify. The actual rate you get will be greatly determined by your credit rating though, so keep that in mind. Also, it is highly likely that your mortgage rate will be lowered to 31% of your monthly income if your mortgage is backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Make sure to contact your lender and find out. Also, go to http://www.financialstability.gov for much more information.
March 24th, 2009 @ 9:11 am
[...] recently wrote an article on how the Obama Housing Plan would help you refinance; I truly had hope. Sadly, the same restrictions that were in place in [...]
March 30th, 2009 @ 7:24 am
Sooooo, if a family member is your mortgage holder you are screwed? He loaned me the money, I pay him. He used his hard earned money, not other taxpayers’ $ that will again have to pay to bail out Fan and Fred et al. Is there any help for him (and thus my family and I?).
April 10th, 2009 @ 4:20 am
I am renting out a condo but I’m losing about $500/month on the deal. I called my mortgage company and they said I had to be in “finanical stress” to apply for the lower interest rate. I’ve paid my mortgage on time but it hasn’t always been easy. They also say since the home is not my primary residence I don’t qualify. I’m in a 5year arm and I just want a fixed (and hopefully lower) rate. Why are the lenders making it so hard?
April 10th, 2009 @ 8:15 pm
Good information here. I might also add that I also visited http://www.making-homes-affordable.com and it is probable the best for anyone looking for some additional information on the program.
April 21st, 2009 @ 11:54 am
My lender is Countrywide and I have contacted them twice in order to refiance our home. We haven’t missed a payment in 6 yrs. Their rates are much higher than most others company’s I’ve seen on the internet.
CW insist that I have to pay points although I have an excellent FICO score. They offered me 5.0% w/1.375 points qne 5.6% w/.125 points! My closing cost is $3,623 on both scenarios previously mentioned. I need other options like yesterday.
The best
June 3rd, 2009 @ 9:48 pm
Sweet blog. I never know what I am going to come across next. I think you should do more posting as you have some pretty intelligent stuff to say.
I’ll be watching you .
June 18th, 2009 @ 1:31 pm
I’ve filled out all the forms for the making home affordable program. They were in the system on 4/20. I called GMAC today to find what’s going on with my loan. They just tell me I have to wait…
My question. How long does it take? I need to do something before I start falling behind. Has anyone been approved in this program?
Cheers
June 25th, 2009 @ 1:14 pm
It doesn’t matter if you qualify, TONS of people qualify. The banks simply won’t do it. Apparently it’s not profitable enough for them. Supposedly this program was designed to help 400,000 people… it’s actually helped about 50. It’s a publicity stunt and a scam, not a solution.
I’m just one example: Wife lost her career. Had a 24wk preemie with serious health issues. Lost our car, have no savings left. But in spite of that, we stayed current and never missed a single payment, desperately trying to keep our home despite the horrible 20yr / 7.125% loan… would Wells Fargo help us? We qualify in every way for this Making Home Affordable program- a Mannie Mae loan, owing less than 105% of value, lived here two years…
Nope.
According to them, we don’t qualify because we have mortgage insurance. We haven’t paid them enough yet, I guess. Now we’re forced to walk away from our home next month. No other options left.
I’m not the only one. Check forums, discussion groups, comments on other websites. This farce is slowly being shown for what it is.
So thanks a ton, Obama. HOPE no one makes the mistake of voting for you next time. The only CHANGE I see is instead of just not helping, you’re pretending you are.
August 24th, 2009 @ 3:41 pm
I applied for a loan modification through my mortgage company and to my great dismay instead of reducing the monthly payment it went up $100./month!! I can’t get through to a supervisor and the “on phone” staff just don’t have the answers and express total apathy. They promised to have a superviosr call within 48 hours and that was two weeks ago-still no call. They also promised to send another application for another program-it never arrived. I need help.