In this program, participating homeowners will transfer their home titles to Bank of America for forgiveness of all outstanding mortgage debt. Then Bank of America will lease the home to the former homeowner for up to three years at a rental price less than their mortgage payments, making payments affordable. After the three-year rental period, Bank of America will sell the acquired houses to investors.

For now, the “Mortgage to Lease” program will only affect 1,000 specifically selected Bank of America customers in Arizona, Nevada, and New York. During this initial phase, Bank of America will explore customer, community, and investor reactions and assess the feasibility and practicality of expanding the program.

In order to qualify, the homeowner must meet the following criteria:

• Have a Bank of America loan without junior liens
• Be delinquent 60 days on their mortgage payments
• Be “underwater” on their mortgage
• Must have exhausted other foreclosure alternatives
• Foreclosure must be eminent
• And the homeowner must be occupying the home

Because this program has received national media attention, you may receive questions from homeowners about it. If you do, you can simply explain that this program is tiny and for now will affect less than one-tenth of one percent of all the homeowners with a problem. Remember, Bank of America will be hand-selecting and notifying homeowners for the initial launch.

A $600 rebate is available to Marin homeowners for getting a home energy efficiency assessment with a participating contractor through the Energy Upgrade California program.

Visit www.co.marin.ca.us/energyupgrade to learn more or call 415-473-4197.

The full implementation of the revamped HARP 2.0 program, which was announced by President Obama in October 2011, has taken five months to come into play. The HARP 2.0 refinance program was available on a manual basis for a homeowner’s current servicer, the series of changes that the computerized version of the program is undergoing will increase the volume and speed of applications processed.

To be eligible for a HARP 2.0 refinance program, you can either use this HARP eligibility calculator with detailed eligibility explanations or follow the general guidelines below:

1. Your loan must be owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. If you are unsure if you have a Fannie or Freddie loan, you can check both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s websites or you can call their toll-free number for confirmation.

• Fannie Mae: http://www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup/ 1-800-7FANNIE (8 am to 8 pm ET)
• Freddie Mac: https://ww3.freddiemac.com/corporate/ 1-800-FREDDIE (8 am to 8 pm ET)

2. You must have closed your current loan on or before May 31, 2009.

3. You must not have made a late payment within the past six months and have had no more than one late payment within the past 12 months.

4. Your loan must fall under the current conforming loan limits. If you are unsure, you can find out here: http://themortgagereports.com/loan-limits/

If you mete the general guidelines, what’s next?

Contact your current loan servicer to see if you are eligible to see if your loan qualifies for the HARP 2.0 refinance program. Then ask them if they can assist you in applying for the program.

*Caveat: just like traditional refinancing…shop around and compare, fees, rates and lender service levels.

HARP Program specific contact information for major mortgage servicers with whom you already have a mortgage through (not for new loans or shopping for a new servicer):

Bank of America: 1-800-846-2222

Wells Fargo: 1-877-937-9357

Chase: 1-800-848-9136

Citi: 1-800-283-7918

US Bank: 1-866-932-0462

]]> http://www.realestateofmarincounty.com/2012/03/the-harp-2-0-refinance-program-is-available-starting-today-monday-march-19-2012/feed/ 0 http://www.realestateofmarincounty.com/2012/03/102-coleman-drive-san-rafael-ca-425000/ http://www.realestateofmarincounty.com/2012/03/102-coleman-drive-san-rafael-ca-425000/#comments Fri, 16 Mar 2012 22:04:00 +0000 admin http://www.realestateofmarincounty.com/?p=1362