Will Obama’s Making Home Affordable Program Affect Mortgage Rates?
Posted on | March 9, 2009 | 4 Comments
President Obama’s Making Home Affordable Program will attempt to assist homeowners refinance at a lower rate as well as decrease the number of foreclosures. President Obama and his administration have worked very hard to create this program and hope to put a bottom in the housing market. Overall, he has gained the attention of Americans as his approval rating continues to remain high. A very important question is “Will the program affect mortgage rates?”
In early February, Bill Gross predicted mortgage rates would fall to 4.5%. If one of the world’s largest mutual fund managers makes this type of prediction, people listen. His reasoning was that the government is doing everything they can to lower rates. They have made the fed funds rate virtually zero and now they are offering incentives to lenders to offer lower rates to borrowers.
No one really knows where rates will bottom, but if President Obama keeps pushing the Making Home Affordable program, rates are going to continue to fall. The more incentives that are created for the lenders, the lower rates are going to go. The catch-22 of the situation is that our tax dollars are going to pay for these incentive. Therefore, the lower refinance rates will help you save money on your mortgage, but there is also a chance you could be paying more in taxes based on your income bracket.
Overall, this remains one of the best times in history to refinance or buy a new home. The United States government is doing anything and everything to encourage you to go to your lender and at least contemplate the idea of refinancing or getting a first mortgage. So why not do it? At least contact a few mortgage lenders and see what rate you can get. You will never know until you try.
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4 Responses to “Will Obama’s Making Home Affordable Program Affect Mortgage Rates?”
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March 16th, 2009 @ 2:26 am
After much research I’ve found the following websites cover everything about the “Making-Home-Affordable” plan and mortgage information in general. If your loan is held by Freddie or Fannie, you might qualify for a refi or loan mod.
First, find out if your loan is held by Fannie or Freddie. Contact them here to find out. They give you the phone number to call Fannie and Freddie directly to see if your loan is held by one:
http://www.financialstability.gov.
For an idea whether you even qualify, even if your loan is held by Fannie or Freddie, you can calculate your eligibility here:
http://www.making-home-affordable.com
I’d also call HUD. I don’t have their number but you go to:
http://www.hud.gov
And last but not least is MortgageBreakDown, in my opinion one of the best new mortgage sites for independant information available. Easy to read, navigate and contains solid information:
http://www.mortgagebreakdown
March 23rd, 2009 @ 8:02 am
That last post was good until it plugged the private website with a broken link.
For a calculator for eligibility under the MHA plan that is more comprehensive and provides better detail than Treasury’s calculator, there is one for free here:
http://www.homeaffordplan.com
March 26th, 2009 @ 4:18 am
I hope this MHA plan will be able to help the thousands of people who are doomed for foreclosure. I don’t think anyone deserves to lose their home especially in sensitive times like right now.
April 3rd, 2009 @ 8:40 pm
I sure am excited to see how this whole plan plays out. I think it could be a very powerful thing for homeowners all over the country. Very smart to help people who haven’t already fallen behind!