HARP Has Been Extended to December 2015!

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced the extension of the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) for an additional two years. It was set to expire this year, but now it won’t expire until December 31, 2015.

The program was originally set up to in March 2009 to help underwater and near-underwater homeowners refinance their mortgages. The objective of HARP is to help homeowners refinance their current mortgage to obtain better terms, such as a lower interest rate and smaller payments. Almost one million people have taken advantage of the program.

Of course, not everyone is eligible. Generally speaking, your mortgage must be owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Further, you must be current on your mortgage and not have had a late payment in the past six months. Also, you must have the reasonable ability to pay under new, presumably better, mortgage payments.

How do you know if Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac owns or guarantees your loan? Check out the following websites and enter your information: www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup and www.freddiemac.com/mymortgage.

For more information about HARP, review the website at www.harpprogram.org.