February 28th, 2009 by michael e. riley
In the past when homeowners were faced with job loss or a change in circumstances that restricted their ability to afford their home and were not able to pay their mortgage they would have the option to refinance with lower interest rates or sell their property. For most currently this is no longer a viable option.
Struggling homeowners cannot refinance due to plunging property values resulting in upside down mortgages, and even when they find a buyer for their property there is the challenge of not be able to sell for enough to repay the outstanding balance.
According to the data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) 11% of the nation’s home mortgages were delinquent by at least one payment, already in foreclosure or entering foreclosure. 7% of mortgage were at least 1 month past due and 3% of the …
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February 25th, 2009 by michael e. riley
Refinancing Under New Housing Plan can be confusing. Below examples provided by the US Treasury Department will help you understand the new Homeowners Affordability and Stability Plan (HASP). Find out if you can refinance or lower your mortgage under the new plan.
Family A: Access to Refinancing
- In 2006: Family A took a 30-year fixed rate mortgage of $207,000 on a house worth $260,000 at the time. (The family put just over 20% down.) They received a Fannie Mae conforming loan with an interest rate of 6.50%.
- Today: Family A has about $200,000 remaining on their mortgage but their home value has fallen 15 percent to $221,000.
- Their “loan-to-value” ratio is now 90%, making them ineligible for a Fannie Mae refinancing.
Under the Refinancing Plan: Family A can refinance to a rate of 5.16%. This would reduce their annual payments …
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February 24th, 2009 by dmitriy
Housing Plan to Reduce Mortgage Payment
Many of homeowners have questions regarding the President Barack Obama’s Housing Plan. A lot of Americans are in various stages of foreclosure and the help can not come soon enough. So who is eligible?
The program is expected to help those who are in danger of not making their monthly payments. The applicants do not have to be behind, but may be asked to demonstrate that they may be short on making their monthly payments. The program’s eligibility is determined by whether the monthly mortgage payment is above 31% of applicant’s gross income. Jumbo loans (the loans over $417,000) are not eligible and neither are second mortgages.
The lenders and loan servicers are encouraged to participate in the program by receiving subsidies and various incentives from the government but are not otherwise required …
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February 23rd, 2009 by michael e. riley
Presently the banks are often unable to help reduce mortgage rates for homeowners that are current on their loans. The Obama’s proposed plan is designed to alleviate the situation by encouraging banks to refinance or modify mortgages for responsible homeowners even if they are not yet behind on their payments.
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February 20th, 2009 by Geoff Marks
mortgage modification program – Nearly 9.5 million households, or nearly one out of every five of the nearly 52 million homeowners with a mortgage, spend 38 percent or more of their pretax income on their mortgage payment, property taxes and insurance, the AP’s analysis found. That’s the new threshold to qualify for the loan assistance program launched last month by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance companies now under government control.
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February 19th, 2009 by michael e. riley
stop foreclosure
Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan said Thursday in an interview that it’s critically important that banks and lending institutions “step up to the plate” to help make certain the Obama administration’s new home foreclosure initiative succeeds.
“This started as a mortgage crisis but it’s become a jobs crisis,” said Donovan following the announcement of the $75 billion plan to help prevent foreclosures.
In an interview with the “Today” show on NBC Donovan stated that the administration feels confident that enough requirements are put in place to ensure refinancing by the banks which will “tip the balance for millions of homeowners.”
Sheila Bair of Federal Deposit Insurance Company stated that the while some foreclosures will be unavoidable, the plan should help bring the foreclosure levels to the historical averages.
The plan’s key provision for mortgage modification will only benefit the …
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Tags: hope for homeowners, loan modification, mortgage modification, nonprofit, upside down loan