If HARP loans do not care about upside down or appraisal what do they care about?

HARP is a set of guidelines for refinancing underwater properties and allows Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac to securitize these bonds and sell them on the open market. HARP/ Freddie / Fannie do not lend money... the lenders that do, will most always have their own set of guidelines in addition to HARP / Fannie / Freddie guidelines. The additional guidelines, or overlays, will restrict the Loan to Value (LTV) on HARP refi's. So even if HARP allows for unlimited, lenders might limit the LTV to 125% or 150%. Some lenders require an appraisal even if HARP says the appraisal can be waived.. etc... It all comes down to the "Golden Rule".. He who has the gold, rules!!! Why do they care?? It's pretty common sense that if you lend someone 80% of an asset, your in pretty good position If the loan defaults.. you can sell the asset and probably come out without a loss. However if you lend someone 150% of an asset and the loan defaults, the lender is sure to suffer a loss, even If the loan is insured.. .. I'm a Broker here in Scottsdale AZ and I only lend in Arizona. If you or someone you know is looking for financing options, feel free to contact me or pass along my information. 480-287-5714 WilliamAcres.com

You still need to have acceptable credit and the ability to repay however, the statement regarding not caring about value is a little vague as there are some restrictions with Loan to Value as well as the occupancy of the residence.

Your current mortgage must have been guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac on or before 5/31/2009. Also, the documentation needed is slightly abbreviated, meaning you will likely only need 1 year proof of income. Various other "lite" guidelines.

To be eligible for HARP your loan must be backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and originated prior to May 9th 2009. With that said some lenders do impose LTV restrictions. Some cap at 125%, some at 150% and others offer unlimited LTV. There are typically minimum credit score requirements. Other than that typical guidelines do apply for the most part.

Including the above you cannot have been last in the last 12 months. Go online with Fannie and Freddie and look up your loans to see if they purchased them before June 1st, 2009

HARP was specifically designed to help homeowners who are upside down as long as their loan is backed by FNMA or FHLMC. The loan is run through an automated underwriting system and both FNMA and FHLMC indicate what they believe the value to be. This value is what your LTV/CLTV is based on. The loan has to have been backed by FNMA or FHLMC on or before 5/31/2009. To see if your loan meets the 5/31/2009 FNMA/FHLMC requirement, go to https://ww3.freddiemac.com/corporate/ for FHLMC & https://www.knowyouroptions.com/loanlookup for FNMA. The LTV/CLTV requirements can vary from lender to lender so if one lender tells you they can't help you due to only the LTV/CLTV, try another one. You still have to meet income, credit and asset requirements.

What the others have said is pretty good. Using Fannie &/or Freddie's online form will let you know if the loan is in their portfolio for the appropriate period. Then you need to find a Local Licensed Loan Officer you can work with, whose office can go up to whatever your LTV will require. Please be advised, even if the initial online form indicates you qualify, there could still be something strange in the background that may disqualify you from being able to use HARP (as we had that happen recently.)If your loan is not through Freddie or Fannie -- you might still be able to refinance if you have an FHA or VA loan currently. The FHA loan would also have had to meet the May 31, 2009 date criteria, but the VA wouldn't.Chances are that if you did an 80/20 purchase, it may not meet criteria for any of these programs.

They do care if you are currently employed, that you show a solid credit history, and that you are improving your situation by refinancing with the HARP program (term reduction, payment reduction, refinancing from an ARM to a Fixed rate, etc).

Current employment, good credit, no mortgage lates.

HARP loans - different lenders will require a max loan to value of 125% -some maybe even lower, you have to have stableemployment, ability to repay, etc..... Check with your current servicer 1st as they may have internal programs alongwith the HARP program-Pete

The 2 main criteria are that your loan was originated before 6/1/09, and it was purchased by Fannie or Freddie before that date. If it was greater than $417,000, chances are it wasn't purchased by either of them, with one exception which can easily be explained. We have lenders that will do unlimited LTV HARP 2 loans for both F & F as long as you can qualify. This is actually easier, and very possibly less costly, than for a conventional loan. If you have already found out by going on the F & F websites that your loan was purchased by one of them, we should talk. Even if it wasn't, we should talk because with the multitude of lenders that we work with, there may be a way to your refinance. Give me a call 16/7, or email me your phone number so I can call you, and I'll be happy to walk you through the process. 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 40+ quality lenders that offer more than 1,000 loan programs, we definitely have something for everybody.