Refinancing Relief:
The Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan and
How You Might Qualify
As lenders evaluate the loans in their portfolio to determine eligibility for the program, a good way to evaluate if you qualify for refinancing is to monitor your credit. Since you don’t know which of the 3 major credit bureau reports lenders are going to look at to evaluate it, check all three. With 3-Bureau Credit Monitoring you’ll know you’re doing everything you can to ensure your eligibility for refi relief.
How can the refinancing portion of the plan help you?
If you’re a borrower who has been current on your mortgage payment but can’t refinance because your home has lost value, you might be able to refinance into a 30 or 15-year fixed rate loan. The program is limited to loans held or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
If you owe more than your property is worth, you might qualify to refinance if your new first mortgage (including any refinancing costs) will not exceed 105% of the current market value of the property. For example, if your property is worth $200,000 but you owe $210,000 or less you may qualify. The current value of your property will be determined after you apply to refinance.
Complete eligibility details will be announced on March 4th when the program starts, but criteria will include having sufficient income to make the new payment and an acceptable mortgage payment history. The program is limited to loans held or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
Get started now by checking all 3 credit bureau reports to make sure you’re credit-worthy. Lenders give the best rates to those with stellar credit. By checking all 3 bureau reports, you’ll stay on top of any changes on any of your reports and be sure you’re competitive.
To evaluate your refinance, these are some of the documents your lender may ask you to present:
Documentation with the gross monthly income of all borrowers, including your most recent pay stubs if you receive them or income from other sources
Your most recent income tax return
Information about any second mortgage on the house
Payments on each of your credit cards if you are carrying balances from month to month
Payments on other loans such as student loans and car loans.
Refinancing won’t reduce how much you owe on your loan or any other debt. The plan’s object is to help borrowers refinance into safer, more affordable monthly payments on fixed rate loans. Your reduced interest rate should help you save money over the life of the loan.
There are many components to the government’s plan and refinancing is just a small part of it. To get complete details, please visit
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/02/18/Help-for-homeowners/
http://makinghomeaffordable.gov/
