UPSIDE DOWN REFINANCE NOW AVAILABLE -THE OBAMA PLAN IS HERE!!

We are once again in high spirits to share this piece of good news that the Homeownership Affordability and Stability Plan (HASP), also referred to as “The Obama Plan” by some, has finally become available. This should bring some relief for homeowners whose financial situation are upside down and are left out in the cold because the value of their homes have significantly decreased, leaving them on a reluctant wait-and-see predicament. However, a word of caution from our preferred lenders Paula Clark of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and Aaron Gordon of Countrywide Home Loans: this isn’t for everyone. Some will be too far upside down. Some won’t be eligible for a number of other reasons as we will outline below.

Still, this is very exciting news for those who are timely with their payments, want to refinance, but haven’t been able to take advantage of low rates due to valuation challenges.

Countrywide, which will soon be Bank of America Home Loans, is one of the first lenders nationally to market the new Homeownership Affordability and Stability Plan (HASP). Some call this “The Obama Plan.” This initiative is for borrowers who have demonstrated an acceptable payment history on their current mortgage but due to declining home values have been unable to take advantage of historically low interest rates to refinance or stabilize their payment.

Please read the rest very carefully. This will help many but not everyone.

THE GUIDELINES BELOW IS FOR CURRENT COUNTRYWIDE CUSTOMERS ONLY WHOSE LOANS ARE HELD BY FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC AS INVESTORS.

If you are not a Countrywide customer, contact your own bank and ask about your eligibility for HASP.

Here is a quick look at the highlights for the refinance piece of the plan:

• The maximum loan amount is $417,000 in Clark County.
• Your FIRST MORTGAGE cannot be upside down from the home's value by more than 105%. Your second mortgage may not count.
• The value of your home is NOT determined by an appraisal but by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s automated systems. No appraisal is necessary.
• Your second mortgage does NOT count to determine your eligibility if that second mortgage is held by Countrywide or Bank of America. So let’s say your home is worth $200,000 today. You owe $210,000 on the first and the rate is 6.500%. You have a $70,000 second mortgage that’s held by Countrywide or Bank of America. This program allows you to refinance up to 105% of your first mortgage. This means you can refinance the first for $210,000 at close to today’s rates. The second mortgage will stay intact.
• If your second is with Countrywide or B of A, we will very likely re-subordinate our second mortgage to allow this refinance to happen.
• The investor on your loan has to be Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
• There is no cash-out. You cannot consolidate a first mortgage and a second mortgage.
• In this first phase, you are ineligible if you currently have mortgage insurance on your loan. If you bought your house using a first and second mortgages, you can still qualify.
• You are still eligible so long as you have no more than one late mortgage payment in the last 12 months. You may be permitted more than one late payment in the last 12 months on your Countrywide or B of A second mortgage.
• Your current loan cannot be VA, FHA, or a subprime loan.
• It's a streamlined loan. No income documentation and no appraisal. It’s a stated income loan. You won’t have to prove income again. You will sign a 4506-T however which is a form that allows the lender to obtain a copy of your tax return.
• Debt-to-income ratios may not matter if you are not increasing your current payment by more than 20%.
• There is no minimum credit score if your new payment is no more than 20% higher than your current one. 620 is the minimum if it’s 20% or more higher.
• Rates are slightly higher than current market but still very competitive.
• If you didn't have mortgage insurance before, you won’t have it now, regardless of your loan to value.
• Prepayment penalties on your current loan will be waived by Countrywide and Bank of America to make this program work for you if you are eligible.

If you are a Countrywide customer, give Aaron a call or send him an email to determine your eligibility. Please have your loan number ready when you call or email it to him so he can research your eligibility for you.

If you are interested in this program and are not a Countrywide customer, please contact your bank and ask them about their participation in HASP.

Aaron Gordon can be reached at:
Countrywide Bank, FSB
Cell: (702) 283-2333
Office: (702) 304-8900
Secure eFax: 1-866-905-7922
10190 Covington Cross Drive #190
Las Vegas, NV 89144
Email: aaron_gordon@countrywide.com
Web: http://countrywidelocal.com/aarongordon

Existing Wells Fargo clients need to call their lender and ask if their loan is a FANNIE MAE or a FREDDIE MAC loan. If they have a NON-Wells Fargo loan FREDDIE MAC insured loan- then they must go back to their existing lender to do the refinance loan. If they have a FANNIE MAE loan, then they can go to any lender that they want to do the refinance.

The important thing to remember is that relief is finally coming soon for existing homebuyers that are underwater!

Please feel free to contact Paula Clark at the following:
Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
8337 West Sunset Road, Suite 270
Las Vegas, NV 89113
Office: (702) 868-3920
Cell: (702)277-3554
eFax: 1-866-609-2470
Email: paula.l.clark@wellsfargo.com
Web: http://paulalclark.com/

ARE YOU ELIGIBLE FOR THE OBAMA MORTGAGE PLAN?

Here is another helpful piece concerning the new Home Affordability and Stability Plan (HASP), courtesy of my preferred lender Aaron Gordon at Countrywide Home Loans.

There have been a lot of questions about the HASP that will allow for refinances up to 105% of property values and for note modifications down the 31% of income, if the investor on your loan is Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

Answers and guidelines have been coming in daily. Some are very exciting.

For example, the plan doesn't care about occupancy. It applies to investment and vacation homes as well as owner-occupied homes. There are no minimum credit score requirements. There are no debt-to-income maximums. You just have to demonstrate an ability to repay.

Here is how you can determine if you are one of the seven to nine million homeowners eligible for relief under the plan:

STEP ONE: ARE YOU FANNIE OR FREDDIE BACKED?
To determine if Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac is the investor on your loan, a requirement of the program, you can do any of the following:

1) CALL your servicing company, which is where you send your payment.

2) Or you can do this by INTERNET:

Does Fannie Mae Own Your Mortgage? Click or copy and paste the link below:
http://www.fanniemae.com/homepath/homeaffordable.jhtml

Does Freddie Mac Own Your Mortgage? Click or copy and paste the link below: http://www.freddiemac.com/corporate/buyown/english/avoiding_foreclosure/avoiding_foreclosure_form.html

3) Or you can do this by TELEPHONE:
FREDDIE MAC 1-800-FREDDIE (8am to 8pm EST) FANNIE MAE 1-800-7FANNIE (8am to 8pm EST)

STEP TWO: DETERMINE ELIGIBILITY
If this home is your primary residence, go to www.FinancialStability.gov or click or copy and paste this link: http://www.financialstability.gov/makinghomeaffordable/refinance_eligibility.html

This site will walk you thru a step-by-step questionnaire that will help you determine eligibility and more.

STEP THREE:
If it says you are eligible for refinance, call your preferred loan officer. If you are eligible for Note Modification, call your bank.

NOTE: If this property is a vacation home or an investment home and the home's value is upside now in value by no more than 5%, call your preferred lender and ask if you are a candidate for HASP. It may take a few weeks before guidelines are known but you can start getting on interest lists now.


We at The Dulcie Crawford Group are continually on the lookout for information that can affect your individual real estate situation, and we would like to be your leading source of information. Stay tuned for more updates as they become available.