Home Refinance Stimulus Package – Mortgage Refinancing and Loan Modification

The Obama administration has signed a home refinance stimulus package that includes $75 billion in funding to help home owners avoid foreclosure. Foreclosures in the United States are at an all-time high with no end in sight. This stimulus package is expected to assist over 9 million homeowners who are struggling with their mortgage because of financial hardship.President Obama’s Home Stimulus Package has two main options for troubled home owners hoping to avoid foreclosure:1. Mortgage Refinance2. Loan ModificationWe will consider each one of these options in detail:1. Mortgage Refinancing Through the Stimulus PackageThis part of President Obama’s program brings together the two most influential and powerful mortgage lenders in the country: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Refinancing is available for borrowers who have mortgages backed by one of these agencies. Refinancing is available for those homeowners who are “upside down” in their loan, owing more than the current market value of the home. One important stipulation of this mortgage refinancing is that the home must be your primary residence, meaning you have to live there.2. Loan Modification through the Stimulus PackageThe government is giving financial incentives to approved banks and lenders to do loan modifications on existing mortgages. The goal is to help troubled homeowners avoid foreclosure, which is also expensive for the bank. Loan modification seeks to adjust the monthly mortgage payment to an amount the borrower can successfully manage. Again, the stipulation is that the residence must be your primary residence. This is done through various tools, one of which is reduced interest rates, as low as 2%. Mortgage terms are also adjusted, lengthening the time frame of the loan. Some may be extended over 40 years. The target payment, along with taxes and insurance, should be well under 31% of the borrower’s gross income. Waivers of late fees are granted, and sometimes, there is reduction done on the principal through debt forgiveness. The incentives encourage the lenders to work with homeowners to do loan modifications and avoid foreclosure.President Obama’s mortgage refinance and loan modification stimulus package could very well help you get relief from overwhelming mortgage payments and possibly avoid the agony of foreclosure.