Underwater Homeowners may get Help from HARP 2.0

This page was written, edited, reviewed & approved by Emil J. Fleysher following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. Emil J. Fleysher, the Founding Partner, has 15+ years of legal experience as a bankruptcy attorney. Our last modified date shows when this page was last reviewed.

Written By: Emil Fleysher | Published Date: March 4, 2012,

Homeowners who owe substantially more than the value of their homes are probably too far underwater to refinance their debt anytime soon. But those who have less debt soon may have an opportunity to refinance at lower interest rates; with renewed help from the government. The government has revamped its Home Affordable Refinance Program or HARP. It will help more borrowers refinance mortgages owned by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Eligibility for the new program remains restricted to mortgage borrowers who make monthly payments on time. Qualified borrowers must have unpaid loan balances that exceed 80 percent of the value of their homes. Almost all of the HARP refinancing in the past has gone to homeowners who owe less than what their homes are worth or a bit more. However, one big change has been the elimination of the maximum loan-to-value ratio. This will allow homeowners deeply underwater to have a better chance at refinancing. Another new feature of the HARP program is reduced liability for lenders. This is based on their promises that the refinanced loans conform to the underwriting standards of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The elimination of the loan-to-value ratio should help many South Florida homeowners. Because the South Florida housing market took especially hard hit, the number of borrowers beyond the 125 percent mark is very high. For the last few years, they were not able to take advantage of the program. This is because they were too far underwater. They should now be able to do once the new program is implemented.

Emil Fleysher
Bankruptcy & Debt Lawyer

Emil specializes in consumer bankruptcy, debt settlement, and mortgage modification, offering a holistic approach to solving mortgage and debt problems. Emil listens to clients, understands their circumstances and goals, and helps them make the right choices by presenting all options and contingencies. 

He is dedicated to helping South Floridians regain their financial freedom from overwhelming debt caused by high interest credit cards, bad mortgage loans, and uninsured medical expenses.

View Profile
Request A
Free Consultation

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
Please share a brief description of your financial or debt problems. We'll promptly review your submission and get back to you with more information or to schedule a free consultation with our attorney.
This field is hidden when viewing the form
This field is hidden when viewing the form
This field is hidden when viewing the form
This field is hidden when viewing the form

*Required Fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
All
Cape Coral
Deerfield Beach
Jacksonville
Lake Worth
Orlando
Palm Beach Gardens
Port St. Lucie
Stuart
Tampa
chevron-down linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram