In The News
You may be able to refinance your home, even if you are under water
January 17, 2012 by C21showcase.com · Leave a Comment
For your convenience, we’ve compiled a summary of recent legislation affecting homeowners in Santa Cruz County and California.
We’ve discovered many people aren’t aware that, if their home mortgage was a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, they may be able to refinance into today’s ultra low interest rates, even if their home is underwater!
HARP – the federal government’s “Home Affordable Refinance Plan” – was criticized for not helping enough people, so they’ve improved it. The guidelines were scheduled to be delivered to mortgage servicers and lenders by November 15th. There are some conditions—for example, you have to be current on your mortgage payments, and the mortgage must have been sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac on or before May 31, 2009. Check the links below to see if your loan is eligible:
http://www.FannieMae.com/loanlookup/
or call 800-7FANNIE (8 am to 8 pm ET)
https://ww3.FreddieMac.com/corporate/
or call 800-FREDDIE (8 am to 8 pm ET)
Are you aware that the state of Californiahas funds for homeowners at risk of losing their homes? The federal government gave the state $2 Billion for the “Keep your Home California” program to help people make their payments, but only $150 million has been granted. Here’s an article about it, and the phone number: 888-954-KEEP (5337).
Short Sale Deficiency Judgements ended inCalifornia this July, when Governor Brown signed into law SB 458 (Corbett). Initially, under SB 931, only senior lien holders (first deed of trust or first mortgage) could no longer pursue a seller for the deficiency between the proceeds of an approved short sale and the amount they had originally loaned; SB 458 extended that to junior lien holders as well. The law applies to owners of dwellings of 4 units or less.
Written by M.C. Dwyer, MBA, REALTOR, Century 21 Showcase REALTORS
copyright 2011, 2012
