Can You Qualify For Obama’s Home Loan Modification and Refinance Plan?

Loan modifications under Obamas plan should be “smooth sailing” by now.  So why are we hearing about so many problems people run into when applying to either refinance or modify their mortgage?  What does it really take to succeed?  Here are 4 qualifications which could help you get a new home loan under Obamas Make Home Affordable (MHA) plan.Qualification #1:  HardshipHave you experienced a financial hardship which caused you to fall behind on your mortgage payments?  If so, you’re an ideal candidate for the Obama Administrations MHA plan.   Here are just a few of the types of hardship which could help you qualify for a successful loan modification:
job loss
cut back in hours or pay  (e.g., from FT to PT)
job relocation
business failure
medical hardship
a circumstance which caused a loss of available funds which you expect to be temporary
any legitimate circumstance that’s depleting your funds, e.g., divorce, death, imprisonment, – even credit cards bills, and more
Qualification #2:  Your Home Has Dropped In Value 3.3 trillion dollars worth of home value has vanished into thin air since last year (according to Zillow, Feb 3, 2009). If you’re among them here’s how you may qualify for help under the MHA Mortgage Refinancing Option.You should be able to refinance your loan and benefit from this if:
the loan to value ratio of your home has climbed to over 80%, and
your credit is good and
you’ve been faithfully making your payments over the past year
You can benefit from today’s lower interest rates, or, convert an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) into a more stable one, such as a 30 year fixed rate loan. Either way, you could end up saving thousands of dollars.CAUTION .. I’d confirm I was truly going to save and come out ahead in the new transaction by using a mortgage calculator before making any commitments!  Because we’ve been hearing unbelievable stories of people sometimes being worse off after a refinance than before.Qualification #3:  Origination Date  To be eligible to apply for either a refinanced loan or loan modification under the MHA Program, the original loan had to originate before January 1, 2009.It’s also good to know when the program is scheduled to expire and you can no longer apply.A loan modification must be applied for and approved by Dec. 31, 2012, and can only be done one time, which means if you leave the program for any reason you are ineligible to reapply.  A refinance must be completed sooner — the program for it will end in June of 2010.Qualification #4:  Adjustable Rate Mortgages In our current climate of economic uncertainty and suspected predatory lending it’s somewhat easy to qualify for a refinance or loan modification for people with an ARM that’s about to cause their monthly payment to ‘balloon’.While there are additional circumstances which determine eligibility for relief under the MHA program, these are 4 common qualifications effecting large numbers of people.