Mortgage Loans

[johnsj21]

The new HARP 2 program is great....if your mortgage is owned my Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae, but what about those of us whose mortgages aren't owned by them?  My husband bought our home in 2004 with an ARM - I refinanced it under my own name in 2006 at a fxed rate of 8%!!  My credit was crap then and it was a miracle that I was able to get that loan.  The interest rate was  lower than the adjusted rate so we were happy.... then.  Fast foward 5 years and we want SOOOO badly to take advantage of these low interest rates.  We have good credit now and have always been current on our payments, but we are under water by about $25-$30k.

How can we refi? 

[StartingOver10]

What kind of loan do you have?

If it's FHA you can do an FHA streamline refi.

[johnsj21]

Clearly not an FHA with the 8% rate

It's a conventional 80/20 - the 20 is a 20 year balloon.

[StartingOver10]

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johnsj21 wrote:

Clearly not an FHA with the 8% rate

It's a conventional 80/20 - the 20 is a 20 year balloon.

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Heck, I've seen FHA loans in the double digits!

FHA doesn't set the rate. FHA sets the MINIMUM rate.  There are a lot of lenders out there that will add to the rate in order to increase their payout on the yield spread. That's why I believe in really shopping loans. I have great lenders...but I've been at closings representing the seller and have seen some horrible loans.

Back to your original question, was the loan originated by a credit union or a bank?

You have more options if it was originated by a bank rather than a CU.

The banks are coming out with programs this quarter to refi these type of loans even if you aren't Freddie or Fannie.

Have you contacted your servicer yet?