Government Sponsored Harp Mortgage Program For Refinancing

By Sean A. Kelly

Government sponsored mortgage programs have helped many people. The HARP mortgage program has helped many home owners in refinancing their first mortgage, even when they had low equity in their homes. The Home Affordable Refinance Program is a part of the Making Home Affordable Plan sponsored by the government to help home owners with less equity in their homes, make use of the lower interest rates. The program may help people who have been prompt in making their monthly payments, but could not qualify for refinancing due to their lower home equity. To qualify for the HARP mortgage program, the home owner’s first mortgage is expected not to exceed 125% of the existing market value of their home.

To qualify for the HARP program, the lender may review on the first mortgage balances, the promptness on monthly payments made and the home owner’s financial status to repay the loan. As the program may be considered only as a frame work for the mortgage lenders, the interest rates may vary. The government may not have the interest rates set for the program. The bank or lender may demand details of your monthly income, the tax return papers and list of other debt payments. A thorough review of the papers and the assessed value of your home and payments made for the first mortgage may be the important factors that might decide on the approval. As the interest rates may vary for different lenders, shopping around for a good lender may help in getting lower rates.

The government mortgage program has helped many home owners. The Making Home Affordable Plan includes four programs. The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) helps with giving incentives and guidelines to modify existing mortgage. The Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) helps home owners by guiding in refinancing. The Home Affordable Unemployment Program (HAUP) helps unemployed home owners. The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) offers alternatives to foreclosure. These government aided mortgage programs may help home owners from the constraints imposed on them by the lenders. Home owners may feel it better to have government support in issues on mortgage debts. Many government sponsored mortgage programs have helped home owners from foreclosures.

The FHA mortgage loans are usually insured by the government, through the mortgage insurance paid for the loan. These government mortgage loans require less down payments and reasonable credit scores. The FHA loans are generally considered best for first time home buyers. The government also sponsors VA loans. The Veteran Affairs loan has helped many veterans who had served with the U.S. Armed services. Depending on the years of service put in and the remarks during the service, the loans may be approved. The main advantage of the VA loan may be that the borrower needs no down payment to be made. The loan is generally guaranteed by the veteran affairs department and funded by any conventional lender. Different lenders offer different mortgage programs. The home buyers are usually advised to shop around for the different mortgage quotes offered. A thorough review on the options available and the financial position are some of the major factors to be considered before applying for a mortgage loan. The lenders may usually require good credit history and very good credit scores to negotiate on the interest rates. High credit scores may help the home owners finalize for lower interest rates.

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