Are you HARPing?
The Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) expires at the end of 2015. It’s been a great opportunity for millions of Americans to refinance to lower rates even when they owed more than the value of the home. But some estimates indicate there are still millions of eligible borrowers who have not taken advantage of it. Is this an opportunity for Credit Unions to be memberlicious?
I think so………….
HARP is truly a great program for borrowers. It can save them hundreds of dollars on a monthly payment or reduce the term of their loan. There are criteria to qualify for HARP, but the main points are below:
A borrower eligible for HARP if they meet all of the following criteria:
- The mortgage must be owned or guaranteed by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae.
- The mortgage must have been sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac on or before May 31, 2009.
- The mortgage cannot have been refinanced under HARP previously unless it is a Fannie Mae loan that was refinanced under HARP from March-May, 2009.
- The current loan-to-value (LTV) ratio must be greater than 80%.
- The borrower must be current on the mortgage at the time of the refinance, with a good payment history in the past 12 months.
