Eager-4-Knowledge wrote:
I'll be brief,
I currently have a home whose value has greatly depreciated. I have a mortgage with SunTrust @ 6.5 and owe approximately $65,715.00 (only one mortgage) and the county has reappraised my home at $65,400.00. I would like to check to find out what my options are to better my situation before I enter into any type of dept consolidation program for my credit cards. I did check and it appears that my home was a Fannie Mae loan. Which option should I pursue: Refinance under the "Making Homes Affordable program, try for a FHA loan (home needs some repairs), or apply through the loan company for a biweekly loan program. I currently have a 30 year fixed with SunTrust which we all know that a 30 year loan is a rip off. I am sure I will be able to afford a 15 or even a 10 year loan once I have the credit card situation under control. Do you have any other options or ideas for me. I have never been late on any of my payments. My fico is about 695-699.
The county appraisal, which is done for the purposes of assessing property taxes, may NOT be an accurate estimate of your home's market value. But since you're in a low-cost area, there probably isn't going to be a huge discrepancy between the county's assessed value and the market value. Check out recent sales of comparable homes to get an idea of your home's value, or speak with a local real estate agent.
In your situation, the Making Home Affordable plan might be a good option, since you might owe more than your home's value. Since you're not delinquent and have a Fannie-owned loan, you should be eligible. I didn't see SunTrust on the list of participating lenders, but under the terms of the Home Affordable Refinance program, you can go to any other participating lender to refinance your home. The only hitch you might run into is that the lenders are swamped with requests to refinance and modify under this government program, so it may take a long time to close the deal. But it might be the best option that is theoretically available to you.
An FHA refinance is also an option, but you'll probably have to bring some money to the table. Also, you'd have to pay a mortgage insurance premium upfront and each year until your LTV drops below 78%, if you go with the 15 year loan. So this could be a more costly option, but might also be quicker to close since you wouldn't have to deal with the MHA hoops.
