Virginia HARP Mortgage Lenders See Number of State’s HARP Loans Increasing Month-Over-Month Through Early 2013
Richmond, Virginia (PRWEB) July 20, 2013 -- HARP Mortgage Lender, a nationwide network of approved home loan and refinance specialists working with the Obama administration’s Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), reports that in a trend that defies national norms for an already immensely popular loan program, the number of Virginia borrowers refinancing through HARP have increased month-over-month—every month—since November of 2012. This information comes in the wake of recent extensions and amendments to HARP that have made the program increasingly more accessible to Virginia borrowers and have helped skyrocket the number of HARP users nationwide.
While a recent Refinance Report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sees a greater number of national HARP users in the first three months of 2013 (294,309 total) than in the first three months of any calendar year since the program began in 2009, few states have seen the month-over-month continued success that Virginia HARP borrowers have seen in the last four months. Beginning in December 2012, and going monthly through March 2013, the most recent month on record, Virginia has seen 1,941, 2,349, 2,465, 2,766, per month, respectively. This means that Virginia’s HARP usage has increased anywhere from five to 17 percent each month from the previous month during this time period—a pattern that suggests HARP-eligible Virginia borrowers are maximizing the potential of the nation’s most popular refinance program at rates that not only outpace the rest of the nation, but are saving the average Virginia HARP borrower $4,300 a year, according to recent findings by Fannie Mae.
CLICK HERE to check HARP eligibility.
In comparison with the rest of the nation, this trend is impressive in that while the rate of HARP use from January to February this year was negligible nationwide, and even decreased in HARP-friendly states like Nevada, Florida and Arizona, Virginia was able to actually see its HARP usage grow by 5 percent in that timespan. This proves that the program is crucial to Virginia underwater refinancers, and could be part of why the state has seen its foreclosure rate drop by more than 20 percent from this time last year, according to analytics company RealtyTrac.
Much of this could be due to Virginia’s extremely low HARP mortgage rates, but credit should also be given to amendments made in late 2011 to HARP that extended the program to borrowers with loan-to value ratio’s (LTV’s) above 125 percent. Since that change, nearly 3,000 such deeply underwater Virginia borrowers have been able to use HARP.
“HARP is increasingly becoming a national success story for underwater borrowers, and that fact is ringing exceedingly true in the state of Virginia,” says Ryan Workman, an approved HARP Mortgage Lender in Virginia. “2013 has seen an exponential rise in Virginia’s HARP borrowers, and with this phenomenon, thousands of folks from Richmond to Virginia Beach are climbing out from under debt and getting a new start on both their mortgage and their family’s financial future.”
About HARP
Changes 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 made it simpler for mortgage lenders to assist HARP-eligible borrowers with refinance loans.
The Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) is intended to bring streamline refinancing to responsible borrowers. Those who have been up to date on mortgage payments but have seen a decline in their home’s value are given the option of this refinancing tool.
HARP 2.0 qualification standards:
1) Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac own or have guaranteed a borrower’s first mortgage.
2) The loan on that mortgage was purchased prior to May 31, 2009.
3) Borrowers are up to date on mortgage payments.
4) There is minimal or negative equity on what a borrower owes on their mortgage.
5) All mortgage payments are up to date in the past 6 months.
6) There have been no payments sixty (60) days late in the past 12 months.
Click HERE to apply for a HARP loan.
HARP Mortgage Lender is a national online network of pre-approved home loan specialists and lending organizations authorized to work with the Obama Administration’s renewed versions of the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP 2.0 - 3.0). To speak with a HARP specialist, call toll-free at 888-460-2939.
Mark Madsen, Best Rate Referrals, http://bestratereferrals.com, 800-811-1402, [email protected]
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