Rates have been low the past 8 months. However, many homeowners were not able to refinance because their credit had fallen behind and/or they lost equity in their home and could not refinance.
Congress and President Obama passed the stimulus package earlier this year to try and help 2,000,000 homeowners refinance to current market rates in the spring of last year. Lenders added the program in May, 2009 and have added enhancements to help more people qualify. This programs is scheduled to expire June 10, 2010.
If your loan is owned by Freddie Mac, you must refinance with your current lender. It is a streamline refinance program where the borrower does not have the equity to refinance, may have credit issues, and/or need potential relief from standard mortgage insurance.
Under current guidelines, lenders can refinance up to 105% of the current market value of your home and an appraisal may not be required.
Your loan must be owned by Freddie Mac. There are two easy ways to verify if Freddie Mac owns your mortgage...
Here are some of the major highlights as of 7/22/09 and may differ per lender:
There are currently plans to increase the LTV limits to 125% of the market value and to permit the refinance of loans that currently have (PMI) private mortgage insurance or (LPMI) lender paid insurance.
If you have any questions or would like to see if you qualify for a HARP streamline refinance, please feel free to contact me.
Bob Lowery
Office: 410-248-1762
Cell: 443-653-1720
bob.lowery@prosperitymortgage.com
Feel Free to visit www.marylandhomeloansonline.com to get pre-approved on line.
Rates have been low the past 8 months. However, many homeowners were not able to refinance because their credit had fallen behind and/or they lost equity in their home and could not refinance.
Congress and President Obama passed the stimulus package earlier this year to try and help 2,000,000 homeowners refinance to current market rates in the spring of last year. Lenders added the program in May, 2009 and have added enhancements to help more people qualify. This programs is scheduled to expire June 10, 2010.
If your loan is owned by Fannie Mae, you can refinance with your current lender or any lender. It is a streamline refinance program where the borrower does not have the equity to refinance, may have credit issues, and/or need potential relief from standard mortgage insurance.
Under current guidelines, lenders can refinance up to 105% of the current market value of your home and an appraisal may not be required.
Your loan must be owned by Fannie Mae. There are two easy ways to verify if Fannie Mae owns your mortgage...
Here are some of the major highlights as of 7/22/09 and may differ per lender:
There are currently plans to increase the LTV limits to 125% of the market value and to permit the refinance of loans that currently have (PMI) private mortgage insurance or (LPMI) lender paid insurance.
If you have any questions or would like to see if you qualify for a HARP streamline refinance, please feel free to contact me.
Bob Lowery
Office: 410-248-1762
Cell: 443-653-1720
bob.lowery@prosperitymortgage.com
Feel Free to visit www.marylandhomeloansonline.com to get pre-approved on line.
Many still have questions in this lending environment. While guidelines on credit have tightened, there is still plenty of money to be lent. Many lenders, including mine, have increased minimum credit scores to obtain a FHA loan up to 600. This does not mean you need perfect credit, but you do have to have sufficient credit and show the willingness and ability to repay debt.
In order of importance, underwriters look at:
With FHA loans, sufficient credit means you must have three open lines of credit with a satisfactory credit rating for 12 months. Satisfactory does not mean perfect. If you do not have sufficient credit, there are a couple routes that may help you qualify. These options include using alternative credit and/or non-occupant co-borrowers. These will not help if you have bad credit, but it will help if you have limited or insufficient credit.
The first route is alternative credit. If you do not have enough traditional credit on your credit report, we can use alternative tradelines including rental history, cell phone, car insurance, utility bills, telephone bills, etc.... If your history is satisfactory, we can use these if they are paid on time.
Another route is non-occupant co-borrowers. Non-occupant co-borrowers can be family members and they do not have to reside in the home you are purchasing or refinancing. Loans with non-occupant co-borrowers are also known as "kiddie condo" loans. The co-borrower's income, assets, liabilities and credit history are considered to determine credit worthiness.
And, no matter what your circumstances are, FHA permits home buyers to purchase a home with as little as 3.5% down payment. This money can come from a gift from a family member or close friend. They will also refinance homes up to 97.75% of your home current market value.
If you have any questions or would like to see if you qualify to purchase a home or refinance your current home, please feel free to contact me.
Bob Lowery
Office: 410-248-1762
Cell: 443-653-1720
bob.lowery@prosperitymortgage.com
Feel Free to visit www.marylandhomeloansonline.com to sign up for rate monitoring or to get pre-approved on line.
IRRRL stands for Interest Rate Reduction Refinancing Loan. Except when refinancing an existing VA guaranteed adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) to a fixed rate, it must result in a lower interest rate. When refinancing from an existing VA ARM loan to a fixed rate, the interest rate may increase.
No appraisal, income, or credit underwriting is required by VA.
A certificate of eligibility is not required. Your lender may use an e-mail confirmation procedure for interest rate reduction refinance in lieu of a certificate of eligibility.
An IRRRL may be done with "no money out of pocket" by including all costs in the new loan. (Remember: The interest rate on the new loan must be lower than the rate on the old loan unless you refinance an ARM to a fixed rate mortgage).
You do not have to go to the lender you make your payments to now or to the lender from whom you originally obtained your VA Loan.
You must NOT receive any cash from the loan proceeds.
An IRRRL can be done only if you have already used your eligibility for a VA loan on the property you intend to refinance. It must be a VA to VA refinance, and it will reuse the entitlement you originally used. You may have used your entitlement by obtaining a VA loan when you bought your house, or by substituting your eligibility for that of the seller, if you assumed the loan.
The occupancy requirement for an IRRRL is different from other VA loans. When you originally got your VA loan, you certified that you occupied or intended to occupy the home. For an IRRRL you need only certify that you previously occupied it.
The loan may not exceed the sum of the outstanding balance on the existing VA loan, plus allowable fees and closing costs, including funding fee (.5% of the loan) and up to 2 discount points.
No loan other than the existing VA loan may be paid from the proceeds of an IRRRL. If you have a second mortgage, the holder must agree to subordinate that lien so that your new VA loan will be a first mortgage.
If you have any questions or would like to see if you qualify for a streamline refinance, please feel free to contact me.
Bob Lowery
Office: 410-248-1762
Cell: 443-653-1720
bob.lowery@prosperitymortgage.com
Feel Free to visit www.marylandhomeloansonline.com to sign up for rate monitoring or to get pre-approved on line.
"Streamline" is not a program or product. It refers to the amount of documentation and underwriting that needs to be performed by the lender. You may do a FHA streamline with your current lender or a any lender for that matter. You do not have to go through your current lender. FHA has permitted streamline refinances since the early 1980's.
The basic requirements of a streamline refinance are:
What don't you need on a streamline refinance?:
Many lenders will pull your credit to verify mortgage history. For my company, If the mortgage is not serviced by Wells Fargo, Prosperity permits 2x30 and 1x60 on the mortgage history within the last 12 months. If serviced by Wells Fargo, the current loan need only be current.
Many loan officers confuse their company's guidelines for FHA guidelines. There is no minimum credit score for FHA streamlines.
Lenders may offer the several ways to streamline. Some lenders offer "no cost" refinances by charging a higher interest rate on the new loan than if the borrower financed or paid closing costs in cash. From this premium, the lender pays any closing costs that are incurred on the transaction.
Lenders may offer streamline refinances and include the closing costs into the new mortgage amount. This can only be done if there is sufficient equity in the property. This is known as a "streamline refinance with an appraisal". You can refinance 97.75% of the appraised value.
Streamline refinances can also be done without appraisals, but the new loan amount cannot exceed the original loan amount. Closing costs, prepaid expenses, and Upfront Mortgage Insurance may be included in the loan up to the original loan amount. Borrowers may bring the balance that is unable to be financed to settlement and it does not need to be verified. There is no maximum LTV on "streamline without appraisals".
Prosperity will perform streamline finances on FHA loans up to $417,000. If the FHA loan is greater than $417,000, the streamline process is not available.
If you have any questions or would like to see if you qualify for a streamline refinance, please feel free to contact me.
Bob Lowery
Office: 410-248-1762
Cell: 443-653-1720
bob.lowery@prosperitymortgage.com
Feel Free to visit www.marylandhomeloansonline.com to sign up for rate monitoring or to get pre-approved on line.
Specializes in FHA, VA and Conventional purchases and refinances. Services Baltimore and surrounding counties! Available 7 days a week!!!
Life long resident of Baltimore and Harford Counties.
Over eighteen years of experience within the mortgage industry. Successful track record of originating and managing a sales force and operations; including processing, underwriting and funding departments.
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR A FREE PRE-APPROVAL, PLEASE VISIT: www.marylandhomeloansonline.com
Specializes in FHA, VA and Conventional purchases and refinances.
Wells Fargo Home Mortgage (our parent company) has over 150 years of experience in mortgage lending and they are the most stable and secure mortgage lenders in the county.
Wells Fargo holds over 95% of the loans they originate so they will, most likely, always service your mortgage.
Wells Fargo has been the #1 retail Mortgage lender in the USA for the last 15 years and is the only AAA Rated Bank in the world.
Prosperity Mortgage is Wells Fargo's largest joint venture and we are the 4th largest lender in the Baltimore/Washington area.
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