HARP 2.0 and What it Means for Homeowners Who are Underwater

If you are sitting in a home for which you owe more than it is currently worth, you are one of millions of homeowners in the exact same predicament.  The good news is that you no longer have to sit underwater with a mortgage that is sub-prime or at interest rates that far exceed what is currently being offered.  If you meet the requirements you can now refinance your home through the HARP 2.0 program.

Places like Florida, which have seen the worst of the mortgage crisis and falling home values, will be especially happy to take advantage of the refinancing structure offered by HARP 2.0.  As a revamped version of the Home Affordable Refinance Program, HARP 2.0 offers multiple options for homeowners and expands the reach of its assistance.

With the original release of HARP, some homeowners ran into the issue of lenders refusing to refinance more than 105% of a home’s value, even though the program’s cap was 125%. However, with HARP 2.0, lenders including Choice Mortgage Group have agreed to remove the previous cap and are willing to refinance according to the new guidelines.

So who’s eligible for HARP 2.0? To qualify for refinancing through HARP 2.0, homeowners must meet the following requirements.

• Your mortgage must have been sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac before June 1, 2009.
• You must be current on the mortgage and have no late payments in the last six months. A late payment is defined as one that’s more than 30 days overdue.
• You must not have more than one late payment in the past 12 months.
• This must be your first refinance through HARP. If you have refinanced under an earlier version of HARP, then you do not qualify.