Nevada and Florida HARP Borrowers Are Saving Big in the States Where It Counts Most
Las Vegas, Nevada (PRWEB) July 10, 2013 -- HARP Mortgage Lender, a national Internet network of loan specialists approved to work in the Obama administration’s revamped Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP 2.0), reports that recent analytics see HARP loans as becoming an increasingly popular way for underwater borrowers in some of the nation’s most economically hard-hit states to not only avoid foreclosure or short sale, but to save over $4,300 a month on their mortgage. HARP Mortgage Lender also reports that underwater borrowers in states like Florida, Arizona and Nevada are using HARP at rates as high as three times the national average versus all other available refinance options.
A June 12, 2013 report by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) confirmed that HARP, instituted by the government in March 2009, is increasingly fulfilling its objective of helping deeply underwater borrowers successfully refinance a mortgage, and that nowhere is this more apparent that in states that have been hit the hardest by foreclosures since the housing bubble burst. The report showed that through March of 2013, underwater borrowers—or those with a loan-to-value ratio (LTV) of over 105—represented at least 64 percent of all borrowers in Arizona, Florida and Nevada. This news comes at a time when a recent Fannie Mae report said that HARP-eligible borrowers are saving an average of over $4,300 a year through the program.
CLICK HERE to check HARP eligibility.
The report also found that HARP borrowers in the states with the nation’s two highest foreclosure rates, Florida and Nevada, respectively, saw increased HARP usage from February to March, the most recent months on record. Florida’s new HARP usage went up to 12,423 in March after being at 11,785 in February, giving the Sunshine State over 37,000 HARP loans on the year. Nevada also went up to 2,634 HARP loans in March from 2,482 in February, giving that state nearly 8,000 HARP loans on the year. And what lends even further proof to the claim that HARP is being used in the areas it was intended for, is that HARP refinances have accounted for more than 63 percent of all refinances in Nevada in 2013, and more than 53 percent in Florida in the same time period. These figures stand in stark contrast with the national average of 21 percent of HARP’s use in all refi loans.
“The effectiveness of HARP is coming full-circle for deeply underwater borrowers in states where foreclosure has for too long seemed like the only option,” says Brian Maier, owner of Raintree Mortgage Services in Las Vegas, Nevada. “Borrowers from Las Vegas to Miami are using this program at record rates, and the amount of them who are not only saving their homes but saving thousands that they can put toward life essentials is truly amazing.”
Maier also says that a reason for HARP’s continued success through 2013 could be the removal of the 125-LTV maximum debt cap for borrowers in late 2011, the news of which has only continued to spread. And low HARP mortgage rates around 3.31 percent have undoubtedly contributed to the FHFA’s most recent report seeing dramatic increases of users, the total number of which is now at nearly 2.5 million since the program’s inception.
About HARP
Amendments were made to The Home Affordable Refinance Program in late 2011 as part of an agreement between the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, making it easier for mortgage lenders to give refinance loans to HARP-eligible borrowers.
The Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) is meant to assist responsible borrowers with streamline refinancing. Borrowers who have been current on mortgage payments, but whose home value has declined, are given the option of this refinancing aid.
Eligibility qualifications for HARP 2.0:
1) The borrower’s first mortgage loan is owned or guaranteed by Fannie or Freddie..
2) Fannie or Freddie bought the loan before to May 31, 2009.
3) Borrowers need to be current on mortgage payments.
4) Borrowers have to owe more than their home’s worth, or there is minimal equity.
5) All mortgage payments have been on time in the last 6 months.
6) No sixty (60) day late payments in the last 12 months.
Click HERE to apply for a HARP loan.
HARP Mortgage Lender is a national online network of pre-approved home loan professionals and lending institutions authorized to offer the Obama Administration’s revamped versions of the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP 2.0 - 3.0). To talk to a HARP specialist, call toll-free at 888-460-2939.
David Morton, Best Rate Referrals, http://bestratereferrals.com, 800-811-1402, [email protected]
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