Revised Mortgage Plan Designed to Help Struggling Borrowers
October 29, 2011 by Mark Roknich
By email this week, I received an overview of the recent changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). I have blended in with it some bullet points of my own:
- The changes are effective December 1, 2011
- The new rules targets homeowners who owe more than their homes are currently worth
- Mortgage must be guaranteed by Government lenders, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac
- Mortgage must have been sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac on or before May 31, 2009
- Payments must be current during the prior six months; no more than one late payment in the prior year
- Homeowners can now refinance no matter how much they owe (eliminates the 125% rule that existed)
- The changes eliminate appraisals and many underwriting requirements (in many cases)
- The new rules include/mandate waivers of many expensive upfront fees
As you can tell, there is some fine print in this program. As a great starting point, call us at (949) 240-5892 to help you determine the market value of your Dana Point home.
Then call our friend, Mike Harper, at Alpine Mortgage, 949-769-7588, who has generously offered to help, to find out how these changes to the HARP program may help your ability to refinance your particular home and take full advantage of lower interest rates.
This is a PDF document on the Federal website that outlines the new rules in greater detail.
Foreclosure v. Short Sale: Will a Short Sale Save Your Credit?
June 14, 2010 by Christe Roknich
Do you know of someone who is in default on their mortgage, or has lost a job and will soon be facing financial difficulties? Where should they turn for advice?
Call us first! And be cautious about internet “experts,” where scams abound and bad advice like this goes unchecked: “oh, just do a short sale without any harm to your credit.” But here’s an excerpt from the Minneapolis Star Tribune, by Kara McGuire, that reveals how foreclosures AND short sales can wreck credit.
“Both short sales and foreclosures are considered negative by the score, because our data shows us it’s very predictive of future credit risk,” said Tom Quinn, Fair Isaac Corp.’s vice president of FICO scores. “The claim that doing a short sale is not going to hurt your score is false. It’s inaccurate.”
Read the entire article on RISMedia.
Tax Credit for First-Time Home Buyers
May 8, 2009 by Mark Roknich
One of the perks in the recent Federal Government “stimulus bill” is the $8000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers.
To qualify for this credit, the purchase must be made before November 30, 2009. As the credit is intended for first time homebuyers, those applying for the credit may not have purchased a home in the past three years.
Buyers who accept the credit must also live in the house they purchase for at least three years, or Uncle Sam will require the owner to return the credit.
Qualifications are otherwise simple: single buyers must earn $75,000 or less to qualify; couples may earn up to $150,000. Those fortunate enough to have incomes exceeding thes limits may still be eligible for a partial credit.
Is $8000 a lot of money towards a home? Yes, and no, given the high price of housing in areas like Orange County. But note, that this credit may be enough to cover many buyer’s closing costs.