Westlake Village Real Estate Blog

Posts Tagged ‘refinancing’

Many people think that if their mortgage balance equals or exceeds the market value of their home, they cannot get new financing. Actually, they may be wrong. If your loan is owned by one of the three big government entities – FHA, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac – you might be eligible for a “streamline refi.” (Remember: these programs do not hold loans that are higher than $417,000 or $729,750, depending on when you got your loan.)

Questions to ask yourself: First of all, are you a mortgage holder in good standing? If you have never missed a payment, have excellent credit and the underlying owner of your loan is one of these government programs, you may be in good shape. If you have one of these loans plus a second trust deed, the task may be tougher or impossible.

What to do: Call your loan servicer – the company you make your payments to – and ask if Fannie, Freddie or FHA holds your loan. If so, ask to speak with the department that could discuss refinancing.

Next, ask if FHA, Fannie or Freddie is the underlying owner of your loan. You have a legal right to know this. If the answer is yes, discuss refinancing the loan. You cannot “shop’ the loan between servicers (again, the name of the company on the mortgage statement) but you may be able to do a streamline refinance without an appraisal.

What NOT to do: Do NOT ask for a loan modification if you want to find out about refinancing. These two departments don’t know what the other is doing, and the “loan mod” folks have no incentive to forward your inquiry. (In fact, they have very little incentive to process your loan modification, which explains why only some 1,350,000 loan modifications had been approved by March of last year.)

Botton line: A streamline refi is worth a try if you meet the basic criteria.

By Debbie Gleason, Manstreet Mortgage

Mortgage interest rates are the lowest we’ve seen in our lifetime! Combined with the lowest home prices in years, ownership is more affordable than ever. This is great news for both homebuyers and homowners who are in a postiion to refinance.

There are several great loan products available, and while qualifying is definitely requiring a lot of time and paperwork, for most people it is definitely worth it. I am locking 30 year fixed conforming loans (max $417,000) at 4.5-4.75% [apr 4.5-4.75%] with NO CLOSING COSTS………NONE; conforming jumbo loans (max $729,750) at 4.75-5% [apr 4.75-5%].

AND a few lenders are offering piggyback equity lines and fixed rate seconds again.

Many who think they cannot qualify, or do not have equity, are eligible for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac refinance programs that allow as high as 125% loan to value. Those with FHA loans can get a streamline refinance which, in most cases, requires NO appraisal, income documentation, or asset documentation.

This is truly a great opportunity for homebuyers and home owners.

For more information, contact Debbie Gleason, DebbieG@MainstreetLoans.com (818.874.9900).