Can I take advantage of the HARP refinance yet?

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The lenders never stopped doing HARP loans... in fact more lenders are doing HARP loans than ever before.. But only up to 125%. If your loan to value is over 125%, then you need the HARP 2.0 and it wont go into effect until mid March. Contact a local mortgage broker, not a bank, and apply with them.. once the program does open up, there will be a flood of applicants.. getting in line early will get you approved and closed early. WilliamAcres.com

Jenny, it's possible your current lender only can process a HARP refinance over 125% of value. The current servicing lender is allowed to process a manual underwrite of the loan and they are not limited to the 125%. The key word is "allowed," as many of the servicing lenders are choosing to wait until the Automated approval system is updated the weekend of March 17th. But it wouldn't hurt to call your lender and ask. Just say "are you processing HARP refinances under the manual process with unlimited LTV yet?" Hopefully the clerk will know what you are talking about. :) I've written a pretty extensive article with video at www.theloanconsultant.com/obamarefinance. Should answer most your questions and feel free to contact us if you have additional questions.

Couldn't find a way to edit so sorry for the 2nd post - just got confirmation from a buddy at Wells Fargo that THEY will be adopting the unlimited LTV for their current borrowers for applications dated after Feb 6th. I'm guessing other banks can't be too far behind. Again, this is for the manual process which means they are only offering that to their existing customers.

The first thing you want to do is make sure your loan is HARP eligible. If you have not yet verified, go to http://www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup/ for Fannie and https://ww3.freddiemac.com/corporate/ for Freddie. Assuming your loan is HARP eligible, you can either work with your current bank (remember, these are the folks who wouldn't help you before) or better yet contact a local Mortgage Banker/Broker. Unlike a bank employee, who is most likely just an order taker, a Mortgage Broker/Banker is Trained, Tested and Licensed in all aspects of Mortgage Origination. He/She will have access to loan products of many lenders, not just those of one bank, and can properly guide you. But more importantly, He/She is trained to take a look at the various different options available to you and guide you into the one that makes the best sense for your situation. Don't forget to check out your selected Mortgage Originator at the National Mortgage Licensing System at www.NMLSConsumerAccess.org ~ Bert Carpenter, The LoansA2z team of NOVA Home Loans ~ NMLS 40586 ~ www.LoansA2z.com

We have 39 lenders and some of them are allowing up to 125% LTV. Sometime between 3/1 and 4/1 when the lenders get up to speed, there will be no limit to your home's LTV but your loan has to have been purchased by Fannie or Freddie. They buy 50% to 60% of all loans, so you have about a 1 in 1 chance that yours was bought by one of them. There are a few more stipulations that were not mentioned by the other loan officers who answered your question that you need to know before pursuing a HARP 2 loan so you won't waste your time. You can go to http://www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup for fannie and http://www.freddiemac.com for Freddie to see if either of them purchased your loan. Give me a call 16/7, or email me, and I'll be happy to discuss you loan with you. To learn more about me and our mortgage brokerage, click on my picture. When the next page pops up, click on "Website" and you will be redirected to ours. We work exclusively in CA and get loans done fast, typically in less than 30 days, at low interest rates and costs. Representing 39 quality lenders that offer more than 1,000 loan programs, we definitely have something for everybody.