Fed announces refinance assistance programs – Helping the financially needy

The after-effects of recession has caused the US government to pass a number of spending bills in the year 2010 and the intention of all these bills were to help people who own their homes and avoid an impending foreclosure. If you’re a homeowner in the US and you’re already struggling making the monthly payments on your loan due to the lack of jobs and double-digit unemployment rate, you must be aware of the government programs that can assist you with your mortgage loan. The federal government has recently announced refinance mortgage assistance programs to help the struggling homeowners.

President Barack Obama has added some points to his Making Home Affordable Plan and the new rules include stipulations that make it simpler for the struggling homeowners to refinance their mortgages at historically low rates. As the nation is donning an unbelievably high unemployment rate, most people with a mortgage loan are unable to find enough monetary resources to pay off their loans with ease. After the federal government announced this update, this has become perhaps the only refinance mortgage option that the homeowners can opt for when they are going through financial difficulties and are not able to pay with increasing rates and monthly installments. Such aforementioned government backed mortgages are perhaps the only option that is being resorted to by most homeowners as this can fit all of them with credit score below 700 and equity below 20%.

How does the government help homeowners who have equity in their home?

If you take out an FHA loan, you can take out a fixed rate home loan up to 97% of the present assessed value of your home. But with the help of the new HARP, Home Affordable Refinance Program, the homeowners with loans that qualify can refinance to an amount up to 105% of the appreciated home price. You, as a homeowner, could save your dollars by getting help from the Government Refinance Assistance. Apart from this, FHA also allows homeowners to go for cash out refinances up to 85% of the present value of their home.

How does the government help homeowners with no equity in their home?

If you’re someone who owes more on your loan than what your property is presently worth, you need not fret as there are options for you as well. Here are some of them.

FHA Streamline Refinance: If you’ve fallen back on your home mortgage loan but presently own an FHA loan, you can easily get an opportunity to qualify for a refinance mortgage loan. However, you must have been current on your monthly mortgage obligations.

An HARP loan: With Obama’s Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), the qualified homeowners can go for a refinance of their original mortgage to an amount up to 125% of the present value of their home.

Loan modification programs: If you’ve fallen back on your monthly mortgage payments and you do not qualify for any of the above mentioned options, you can negotiate with your current lender and opt for a loan modification. The terms and conditions on your loans will be revised to expedite the repayment procedure.

Troubled homeowners always expect some kind of help from the federal government that can assist them in retaining their home ownership rights. Get help from the above mentioned options and opt for a refinance mortgage loan so that you can repay your mortgage lender stay peacefully in your house. Personal finance management is a must if you’re interested in repaying the loan on time.

Author Bio – Samantha Taylor is the Community Mentor of MortgageFit and has been contributing her suggestions to the Community since 2005. Not just that, she has also made notable contributions through the various articles written on different subjects related to the mortgage industry. Few of her popular articles would include names like ‘Mortgage that you can afford’, ‘Mobile Home Loan with Bad Credit’, and How much mortgage can I borrow?’