Michael Kraus asked:




For much of the past year, mortgage rates have been at or near record low points. Unfortunately, many homeowners have been unable to take advantage of these rates due to declining home equity. Many homes have lost significant amounts of value since the housing market peaked in 2006. As a result, many homeowners now owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth (this condition is known as being “underwater” or “upside-down” on one’s mortgage). Homeowners who lack equity in their homes are frequently unable to meet the loan-to-value (LTV) ratios required by lenders in order to refinance their mortgages. These borrowers may be missing out on thousands of dollars worth of savings.

In response to this situation, the government created the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). HARP was designed to allow homeowners with little to no home equity to refinance into lower mortgage rates. HARP loans are available to borrowers with LTVs of as much as 125 percent, although the maximum LTV it varies by lender.

Some of the eligibility requirements for HARP are:

• The borrower’s mortgage must be owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac
• The home must be the borrower’s primary residence
• The borrower must be current on their mortgage with no late payments in the last 12 month period
• The new loan must lower the borrower’s monthly payments

For a complete listing of the HARP eligibility requirements, check out the Making Home Affordable Webpage here.

The HARP loan program has been extended through June 11, 2011.

Tracy

YSH asked:


While my income of 48K a year is relatively low, I do have 130K available to put as a down payment. I know several ratios are used to calculate if i qualify, so i was wondering if i even could get a mortgage? my loan amount would still come to 195k. what would my options be? do they even allow cosigning?

Cheryl

Lannie B asked:


I recently applied for a FHA loan to buy a home in another state b/c my husband’s job is relocating him. We own a home in our current state, and the loan officer said we were approved after submitting documentation (W-2s, pay stubs, etc) verifying we had the income/assets to carry the costs of two houses. Our FHA financed home in our new state will be our primary residence; we likely plan to rent out our current home to wait out the bad market. Our LO said we don’t have to list our current home as an investment property since we haven’t listed it to rent. He also said that they pretty much don’t care what we do with the current house since our income shows we can carry both mortgages and still fall in line with their desired DTI ratios. I’m just worried things will fall through b/c they’ll decide for some reason we can’t have two mortgages. Is this a senseless fear?

FREDRICK