Tag Archives: Refinance

It's official. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has unveiled a new, revamped government mortgage refinancing program. The initiative involves a series of rule changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) to allow more underwater homeowners to reduce their mortgage debt by taking advantage of today's rock-bottom interest rates. Under the revised HARP guidelines, the 125 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ceiling has been removed, and risk-based fees have been adjusted.

Average mortgage rates were relatively unchanged this week amid mixed economic and consumer sentiment reports, according to Freddie Mac. Adjustable mortgage rates were mixed while fixed mortgage rates held steady remaining near their 60-year lows. The GSE's study puts the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 4.11 percent, down slightly from 4.12 percent last week. The 15-year fixed rate rose one basis point to 3.38 percent.

The Federal Reserve released a new rendition of its market-gauging Beige Book Wednesday, which provides an assessment of regional conditions from those outside the Fed system and in the field. Reports from the 12 districts indicate that overall economic activity continued to expand in September. On the real estate front, though, home sales remained weak with prices either flat or declining across the entire country. Although commercial construction increased at a slow pace, that sector too was described as ""weak.""

CoreLogic and Amherst Holdings, LLC, have partnered to release the Agency Prepayment Analyzer, an online investment analysis tool. The analyzer intertwines CoreLogic's data with Amherst's analytics and forecasting to deliver prepayment risk trends for agency mortgage-backed securities. Designed for fixed-income investors, Agency Prepayment Analyzer tracks the rates at which residential mortgage loans prepay, either voluntarily or involuntarily due to refinancing, defaults, or sales - instances in which the GSEs require buybacks.

Help for underwater homeowners has moved from principal writedowns to refinancing in the settlement negotiations between state attorneys general and the nation's five largest mortgage servicers. According to a widely circulated report, the proposal made its way into the talks last week. Borrowers who are current on their mortgage payments but owe more than their home is worth would be able to refinance at today's lower rates. The main caveat is that the loan must be owned, not just serviced, by one of the five banks.

While five major banks continue to deliberate with the state attorneys general for a settlement involving violations in mortgage documentation, the same five banks, plus several others, also face charges for committing fraud against veterans and taxpayers. Defendants accuse 13 banks of ""a brazen scheme to defraud both our nation's veterans and the United States Treasury of millions of dollars"" by overcharging borrowers in connection with home loans refinanced through a U.S. Veterans Affairs program.

After admitting to an extensive mortgage fraud scheme, the former president of Lend America was suspended from doing any future business with HUD. Michael Primeau pled guilty to charges that he ordered employees to pay company operating expenses with funds intended to cover borrowers' first mortgages at refinance closings. Previously an FHA-approved lender, Lend America also allegedly violated FHA's origination and underwriting standards on several occasions, according to HUD.

The run for below-four-percent 30-year mortgage rates was short-lived. After a history-making drop to 3.94 percent last week, Freddie Mac has recorded an 18 basis point jump in the average interest rate on a conventional fixed-rate mortgage with a 30-year term. Mortgage rates across the board rose sharply this week. Freddie Mac attributes the sudden upward movement to last Friday's better-than-expected employment report, but the GSE stressed that even with the increases, mortgage rates remain near their 60-year lows.

Market watchers have their eyes peeled for word from Washington that officials will relax the rules of a government refinancing program to allow underwater homeowners with GSE-backed loans to take out new mortgages with lower interest rates. President Obama promised just over a month ago that a new and improved Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) would soon be unveiled, but lawmakers are growing impatient. A bipartisan group of senators has sent letters to the heads of four federal agencies calling for ""immediate"" action.

Federal housing programs came under attack during a congressional hearing Thursday titled ""The Obama Administration's Response to the Housing Crisis."" Members of the Senate challenged witnesses with questions about the effectiveness of several programs, including the Neighborhood Stabilization Program and the Home Affordable Modification Program. Industry experts also discussed the potential of new initiatives, such as the REO rental proposal.