Making sense of the new HARP rules 

The big story this week is that the new HARP rules have been released. HARP is the Home Affordable Refinance Program, a government effort to help people refinance their homes. It’s also referred to as the Making Home Affordable program.

The first HARP effort was aimed at helping people stay out of foreclosure. The new HARP 2.0 is aimed at people who are upside down on their mortgage (those who owe more than their house is worth).

The new rules are supposed to help millions of Americans take advantage of today’s great rates.

On the next edition of Saving Thousands! with Robert Palmer  we’ll talk about who’s eligible for HARP and how the process works. Lenders will start taking applications on December 1.

Here are a few requirements to take advantage of the program.

• You must have a mortgage backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Not sure if you do? Looking it up is easy via these two websites:  http://www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup/ and https://ww3.freddiemac.com/corporate/.
• Your mortgage must have originated before June 1, 2009. Look for the funding date on your original paperwork. If you bought your home after June of 2009, you are not eligible.
• You can’t have lender-paid private mortgage insurance on your loan.
• You must be current on your mortgage payments. The government’s definition of current is no late payments in the last 6 months, or just one 30-day late payment in the last year.

You’ll also need the typical paperwork when it comes time to apply – bank statements, homeowners insurance, pay stubs, W-2’s etc.

Some are predicting a flood of applicants, so if you’re planning on applying for a HARP refi, you should prepare now and be ready to go on December 1.

We’ll also talk about some good news in the Florida real estate market. A new report from REALTOR.com shows some of the top cities with real estate markets making a turnaround. Orlando is ranked #2. Florida dominates the list, taking the top six spots.

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