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The Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) is revamped and extended. There are no LTV requirements and fewer loan fees. It's a complete refinance overhaul.
HARP mortgage rates have dropped as banks get competitive.
Forget HARP 2. The talk is now for HARP 3. See who might qualify for HARP 3 and who the government might try to help.
41 percent of HARP applicants report LTVs over 125%. Why are these homeowners having a hard time getting approved for HARP 2.0?
The 2012 conforming loan limits vary by property-type and location. See what your area's conforming mortgage and jumbo loan limits are in 2012.
Some interesting statistics are emerging from among the first wave of HARP 2.0 mortgage applicants. Includes interactive, mouse-over map.
Mortgage rates are spiking this week and so are HARP 2.0 mortgage applications.
A street-level, statistical breakdown of the HARP Refinance requests received by this website between October 2011 and February 2012. LTV, Average Interest Rate, Distribution By State, and more.
Statistics, geography, and demographics of the HARP Refinance Program's First 100 Days. Data tracked includes Median LTV, Median Interest Rate, and Average Loan-to-Value.
If you paid cash for a home within the last 6 months and want to take "cash out", you can. It's because of a new mortgage allowance named the Delayed Financing Rule. The standard 6-month seasoning requirement on home purchases has been eliminated.
Statistics, geography, and demographics of the HARP Refinance Program's first applicant wave. Data includes Median LTV, Median Interest Rate, and Average Loan-to-Value.
FHA loan limits now exceed conventional loan limits in some high-cost areas. As of November 18, 2011, the FHA will insure up to $729,750. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac cap at $625,500.
The U.S. government revamped its HARP program. With charts and commentary, view an analysis of the first 500 would-be HARP participants. Data includes Median LTV, Median Interest Rate, and Average Loan-to-Value.
The HARP mortgage program will be revamped soon, government officials say. A lot more homeowners will be HARP-eligible. Here's what you need to know about the upcoming changes.
Mortgage underwriting is strict, but there's no magic formula for getting approved. Satisfy the Mortgage Income-Equity-Credit Triangle. That's it.
You can't control mortgage rates, but you can control your closing costs. Make the most of this Refi Boom -- go zero-cost refi. Here's how.
A lot of ARMs from 5 and 7 years ago are adjusting lower these days -- not higher. It's because ARM resets are math-based and the math is more favorable for borrowers than at any time in history.
Temporary conforming loan limits in high-cost areas are expiring. After September 30, 2011, places like Loudoun County, Virginia; Potomac, Maryland; and Marin County, California will face new, lower conforming loan limit sizes.
Loan-level pricing adjustments are government-mandated closing costs. And they're rising April 1, 2011. See how LLPAs work and run your loan scenario against this online calculator. Maybe *your* loan will trigger new fees, too.
In Winter 2011, Fannie Mae changed its mortgage guidelines to favor personal income over personal assets. Check the "Cheat Sheet" to see how you'll be affected.
In 2011 -- for the 6th consecutive year -- the single-family conforming mortgage loan limit will be $417,000. The "high-cost" area program is extended, too.
Low mortgage rates don’t matter if you can’t qualify for them. And banks are still tightening. Here's what to do.
For the second time in 10 weeks, Fannie Mae is toughening its mortgage guidelines again. Again. According to an internal Fannie Mae document, a review of the group's current "risk appetite, eligibility requirements, mortgage insurance options, and pricing" spawned changes spanning credit scoring, income requirements, loan-level pricing adjustments.
Effective Tuesday, September 1, conforming mortgage approvals are due to toughen up again. Fannie Mae is imposing strict new lending guidelines that should slow down purchase and refinance activity in Cincinnati and parts elsewhere. It's the first major conforming mortgage guideline change since April and this one is a big one -- 15 separate underwriting areas are affected.
Since May, just one-fifth of the Fed's responding banks said mortgage guidelines had tightened. This number is dramatically less than last quarter's results when the survey posted a 50 percent figure. It's just one more sign that banks are warming to the economy and that may portend the end of the recession.
Mortgage approvals are getting more difficult. Again. After reviewing recent unemployment data and market fluctuations, plus patterns of mortgage fraud, Fannie Mae is making major mortgage guideline changes for the first time in more than 6 months. The changes are broad, impacting 15 separate areas of the mortgage approval process. The most impactful change may be Fannie Mae's new restrictions on mortgages for 2-unit properties.
Each quarter, in a survey of its member banks, the Federal Reserve asks senior loan officers whether their respective prime residential mortgage guidelines have tightened over the 3 months prior. May's survey showed that half of all banks had tightened.
Not 10 minutes after The U.S. Treasury's official Home Affordable announcement March 4, 2009, the nation's news sources were already printing misleading headlines and incomplete stories. The ranged from sensational to mundane. Mostly, though, they were incomplete. Rest assured, my friends, you're not getting a 2 percent rate on your...
The government published its 2009 Conforming Loan Limit guidance Monday. Listed by county, the report grants 324 parts of the country a temporary boost beyond the
Among the most overlooked elements of the recently-passed stimulus package is the reinstatement of 2008's conforming loan limits. Up from $625,500 to $729,750, homeowners in high-cost areas have a better chance of accessing today's low mortgage rates and that is good for both housing and the economy. Areas designated as...
Another day, another demand-side stimulus for the housing market. Huzzah. In the sprawling 407-page stimulus bill, nestled in on page 111, Congress authorized a reinstatement of 2008's temporary conforming loan limits. Effective immediately, home loans in high-cost areas can be insured by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac up to $729,750....
Effective immediately, Fannie Mae is rescinding its 4-financed-property per person restriction.
If you're shopping for a conforming mortgage right now, let me be crystal clear -- there's a near 100% probability that your mortgage rate and/or closing costs will be higher come this Monday. Fannie Mae's new fee structure is about to work its way through the system.
Effective April 1, 2009 -- once again -- Fannie Mae is raising its loan fees. You may want to bookmark this page because should mortgage rates fall over the next however-many months, you'll want to cross-reference your eligibility to secure them. The four-part, mandatory loan fee change was announced December...
In a move that will stymie thousands of would-be home buyers and homeowners, Fannie Mae announced another round of mortgage guidelines changes last week. Unlike past revisions in which Fannie Mae tightened debt ratio and credit scoring requirements, however, the newest underwriting updates zero in home equity and home buyer...
Conforming mortgages are limited by loan size, based on average housing costs around the country. Since 1980, as home prices have increased, so have conforming loan limits. The current conforming loan limit on a single-family home is $417,000. Earlier this year, as part of the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008,...
Shortly after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were nationalized, there was a lot of "Mission Accomplished"-like chatter on TV; as if suddenly-low mortgage rates were the answer to a national housing problem. Look, low mortgage rates don't matter if you can't qualify for them and, on that front, it's been...
For owners of investment properties, the mortgage market is getting ugly. In its last act as a semi-private company, Fannie Mae updated its lending guidelines Friday, this time slapping new restrictions and additional fees on income-producing properties. The most impactful change is Fannie Mae's new, 4-property limitation. Based on the...
Sunday, the government announced that it will takeover Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and assume their respective operations. Mortgage-backed debt is now government debt. But for all the front page stories today, there's suprisingly little coverage about how the news impacts homeowners in need of a mortgage. Mortgage rates are...
I spoke with Beejal Patel of First Business last week on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's new mandatory loan fees. The story is especially timely because mortgage servicing data showed that a greater number of "prime" mortgages defaulted in July 2008 than sub-prime ones. Now, the data is somewhat misleading...
