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CU Companies Works with Underwater Borrowers

HARP 2.0 brings mortgage relief

NEW BRIGHTON, MN (May 21, 2013) CU Companies has experienced great success with the HARP 2.0 program within its Retail Lending channel of the mortgage division. Since February of 2012, the CU Companies MORTGAGE team has written 225 HARP loans.

HARP 2.0 allows for those borrowers with a Fannie Mae-backed loan to refinance–even if their property is underwater. Three refinance options are presented to the borrower allowing them to either: reduce their monthly payment, reduce their term, or both. All of which allow for significant savings on the life of their loan. Here is a real-life example from a loan serviced by CU Companies:

Current loan balance is $198,488; term has 23.5 years left; rate is 6.375%. Through the HARP program, the borrower can:

  1. Keep the same term and reduce payments by $300/month.
  2. Reduce to a 20-year term and reduce payments by $160/month = cuts 3.5 years off the term and saves $95,000 over the life of the loan.
  3. Reduce to a 15-year term and increase payments by $50/month = cuts 8.5 years off the term and saves $130,000 over the life of the loan.

“The closings on this program have been much smoother than the borrowers’ traditional refinance. That’s where we’re getting the most positive feedback. Other lenders take four to six months to complete the process. Not only are we much quicker than that, but the process we have here at CU Companies leaves the member feeling at ease,” says Jason Groth, CU Mortgage Production Manager.

Groth explains that CU Companies has a HARP Specialist that pre-underwrites each loan to Fannie Mae’s HARP guidelines which significantly reduces the closing turn time. “It’s a complex program, but we’re good at it.”

Fannie Mae has extended the program through December 31, 2015. For any questions regarding HARP 2.0, please contact Jason Groth at jgroth@cucompanies.com or 651-787-9550.

About CU Companies
CU Companies is committed to earning the loyalty of its owner credit unions and financial partners by delivering personalized service and competitive financial products.

CU Companies was founded in 1987 by three Minnesota credit unions to offer a competitive mortgage solution for their members. They realized that by combining forces, they could offer a superior product to their membership than if they did it alone. These three credit unions created a Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO), CU Mortgage Services, Inc., in which they shared equal ownership.

Over the years, other credit unions recognized that their membership could also benefit from the CUSO and purchased stock in the organization. As the number of owners grew, they realized there were other areas of expertise that could be leveraged to provide an even greater product offering to their members. Over the next several years, four additional subsidiaries (Title, Realty, Preferred Investments, and Member Business) were created and CU Mortgage Services, Inc. became CU Companies.

For more information, go to www.cucompanies.com.


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