tsalim said:Incarnate said:tsalim said:My Situation :
Current LTV : 93% based on zillow
Banks: Bank of America
Products: No Fee Mortgage Plus ( No PMI)
Called BOA on March and April and told that they will callback within 2 weeks. Nobody call back.
Called again on April 29 after reading the news about BOA now accepting home affordability refinance.
They said that phase 1 of the program is for only those that don't have PMI while my loan is actually has PMI, but my PMI is paid by BOA.
Ask me to wait for phase 2 with without any date to expect.

Did you have one of those loans where instead actually of paying PMI, your interest rate was a little higher?

No, BOA No Fee Mortgage Plus did not require any PMI at all.
I guess, they added PMI when they change it to Fannie Mae Loan, since all FHA Loan require PMI for LTV more than 80%.
Since BOA can't charge me for the PMI, BOA is paying it.
I know you didn't pay for PMI. I guess I meant was the LTV over 80%, and you paid a little higher on the interest rate to avoid PMI. It looks like they took out PMI anyway, and just hid it in your interest rate. That may be very tough to refinance, because they may have purchased mortage insurance for a pool of mortgages instead of just your individual one.

I just wanted to share couple of things . i am also currently talking to my lender wells Fargo fro the refi of my first loan. The rep who is helping us first denying any refi saying since i owe more than the house is worth .When i told him of all the fannie/freddie guidelines for the new program , he agreed. MY first mortgage is at 370k with 6% and second of $40 k with 7%. he is offering me 4.875% for first with 3 points . i,e i have to pay about $14k at closing . it would reduce my monthly payment by about 400$. is it worth ?
Also it is o be noted that under fannie guidelines if you have a second lien ( amount dosent matter ) you have to pay preset points i.e in my case i.5 points just for having second lien . also if i pay down second lien , about 40k then i just need 1.5 points to get that rate for first mortgage.

hope said:I just wanted to share couple of things . i am also currently talking to my lender wells Fargo fro the refi of my first loan. The rep who is helping us first denying any refi saying since i owe more than the house is worth .When i told him of all the fannie/freddie guidelines for the new program , he agreed. MY first mortgage is at 370k with 6% and second of $40 k with 7%. he is offering me 4.875% for first with 3 points . i,e i have to pay about $14k at closing . it would reduce my monthly payment by about 400$. is it worth ?
Also it is o be noted that under fannie guidelines if you have a second lien ( amount dosent matter ) you have to pay preset points i.e in my case i.5 points just for having second lien . also if i pay down second lien , about 40k then i just need 1.5 points to get that rate for first mortgage.
You need to determine if it is worth it. Looks like it may take about 35 months to break even on the refinance. It depends on how long you plan on being there.

Chase never said anything to me about paying extra points because I had a 2nd loan, but I did look through the fannie guidelines, and they do list 1.5 points for anything > 95% LTV

Monkeyman2 said:I talked to a loan screener who stated that Fannie/Freddie (forget which) has my house being worth $265,000, yet all the houses in my area sell for about $375,000 (I am in DC). I owe $330,000. I was transferred to a loan specialist and he said since I didn't qualify for the MHA refi, I could do their whammy-scammy refi instead but I would have to pay a high interest rate (he would not disclose it) and many fees and points. Oh, and BTW there would be a fee to re-appraise my house, and if it came in too low I would be out the $$ for it. Definitely a scam!
Are there any recent comps that sold for $375,000, or are those a year or two old? If there are recent sales at that price, I'd say go ahead and pay for the appraisal - but do your research first. You're only betting what, like $300 on saving tens of thousands over the life of the loan?

I don't think its a scam, but you definately need to work for it. They aren't making it easy.

My Situation : Lost Vision and need a Modification due to Hardship
Current : Owe $415,00 House Value $550,000
Banks: Bank of America backed by Freddie Mac
Products: No Fee Mortgage Plus ( No PMI)
Went to MHA website and used checklist to see if we qualify, which we do...Then called Freddie who directed me to BOA
Called BOA on March and April and told that they will callback within 2 weeks. Nobody call back.
Called again on April 29 after reading the news about BOA now accepting home affordability refinance.
It does not seem like anyone at BOA knows/cares what is going on , especially with the MODIFICATION side of the program....I have followed and understand this program better than the people answering the phones....The problem Timmy Tax Cheat and Obamaination did is they confused most people with THE 2 PROGRAMS , refi and modification, rolling out at the same time....VERY VERY STUPID TO DO THAt (or perhaps very smart like a fox, knowing it would become a clusterfuk)....i plan on staying on top of these bastards and getting my own "bailout" but im afraid most of the people in need out there , will not have the same luck/smarts/patience/tenacity

PS i see someone above posted about the program that has only refinanced 1 loan so far (out of an estimated 400,000 expected,when it came out)...THIS IS NOT THE MAKING HOME AFFORDABLE PROGRAM....but just a prevous bust of a program....but of course its all so confusing, there is no way anyone can stay on top of it and benefit (oh yeah one last thing the MHA is VOLUNTARY for all the banks....its up to them if they want to help you.....LOL)....its been almost 2 months since Obama cama out with MHA program and still the banks are not helping anyone, calling anyone back.....NOTHING BUT DELAYS !!!...and not a word from OBAMA about it....my guess is eventually a REVOLUTION will have to take place, the people are past the point of breaking

SUCKISSTAPLES said:BuckarooBanzai said:the Countrywide rep simply said since their model puts me at greater than 105% LTV, I am not eligible for any refinance, neither through the gov program nor through their traditional refis.
.what if you offered to pay down the loan to hit their 105% calculation? Would they do it then?

I didn't think to ask that, it's moot for me since I don't have enough cash on hand to do it and don't want to take out a high-interest unsecured loan just to get a lower-interest mortgage. It might be a viable option for people who are closer to the cut-off and/or who have higher cash reserves though...

I'm refinancing a Fannie loan through this program with Chase (my current servicer).

Current interest rate = 6.625% (from last August)
Refi interest rate = 4.875% with 1.875 discount points
Credit score = 710
Closing costs = $7163 total ($3272 not counting discount points)
Breakeven time = 26 months (if I use savings to pay down principal)

Estimated LTV was 91%, but appraisal came in better than expected putting us between 80-90% LTV. Hence, we will be getting an adjusted rate based on the lock date that will either be a lower rate or points.

Sorry to hear so many are having problems with the program to this point.

tarbelly said:All this really comes as no surprise. Gov't schemes always sound better than they do in practice. Also it seems that not every alternative being offered is worthwhile (govt scam?). If there were a deal to be found, I'm sure it would pop up here in FWF, so far it looks like no deals as of yet. Meanwhile, for every "adjustment" that is made the banks pocket some bucks from the feds. Stay tuned though, many chapters of this book have yet to be written and I'm sure "change you can believe in" will amount to a few pennies off a mortgage bill, all the while spreading the wealth of fiscal conservatives everywhere.

I wholeheartly agree. I have yet to hear a happy camper on this program. People need to understand govt is never benevolant and forgiving. It has to tax/take away from you to provide such services. Govt programs really dont help much but add bureacracy. The irony is that the Administration will come out and say that millions are being helped in this program.

This may be a tangential; but based on most people's experience here, I believe, this needs to be said.

So many of you try to contact the bank directly; where most of the times you are going to deal with "phone" people (or sales people) who do not have good understanding of what you are talking about. Specially, if the issue/case is just a little unusual. Secondly, if you have to call to follow up -- more likely than not, you are going to be talking with a different person. Hence the whole story has to be told all-over again (with all misunderstanding etc.). In most cases, in addition to not having much knowledge, these people have no power with respect to your current loan or loan application. Instead of talking to some idiot phone rep at some bank, I would strongly advice you to find a "nice, smart and trustworthy" (all three traits important) mortgage broker; explain your sitation to him/her and then let them do the work. They will usually get you better rates from wholesale rate sheets, have much better rapport with underwriters at various lenders, have much better understanding of the process and guidelines. Once again, you have to find smart and honest mortgage brokers and they are hard to find. But in the end, they would be worth 2000$ they will make from such deals and in most cases will get you better rates and less trouble.

I have worked on many sides of this issue -- as a borrower through broker, as a borrower direct to the bank, as a Realtor with clients in similar situation and finally as a loan officer and mortgage broker (all in California). And trust me, I do not even want to think about the two times I tried to borrow directly through retail arm of a large bank.

Only exception to the rule, which I advice to all my loan clients is - go direct through retail arm of "your" bank (one which you have
a relationship with) - for HELOCs. On these, you are more likely to get better rates/terms going direct rather than mortgage broker.

By the way, I do not understand some of the situations described here -- and I suspect strongly that it is at best due to a stupid processor or at worst due to unethical person/broker. There is no reason to perform appraisal or collect $350 application fee etc before getting fannie/freddie approval. At most, brokers/loan-officers should only charge $20-40 credit report fee upfront (which is needed at the time of file submission). Conducting an appraisal, should be an informed decision by borrower as part of loan application strategy discussion with your broker (for example, if you are targetting a 15 day lock to get best rate, I may advice you to get appraisal condition removed before doc-order and lock).

However, there is tendency amongst some loan-officers/brokers that if they have you stuck with some fees upfront, there is less chance you will go to someone else. I believe that is such an upfront fee is asked before rate-lock (unless as part of a strategy); you should assume you are dealing with unethical loan person and find someone else. Also, don't fall for a bait-and-switch trick (or get into a situation where you have invested too much in it to fall prey to bait-and-switch trick). Clearly ask to find out the pre-lock costs and minimize those so that if a bait-and-switch is attempted (which can only happen before rate-lock); you can walk away.

By the way, the issue of appraisal fees is somewhat moot because starting May 1st, new HVCC rules came in effect (another long story).

Another Countrywide(Bofa) experience so far:
Have a 1st and 2nd.
LTV with 1st loan: 97.5%.
Combined ltv: 119%
Current rate: 7.35%
New Rate: 5.375 with 4.125! points.
Fako: 854
Break-even at about 40 months. I plan on staying in the home for longer than
that, plus will like the flexibility of the lower payment.

Explanation of crazy points I'm paying.
1.0 for LTV > 97
another 1.5 for high ltv or possibly 2nd loan (agent didn't seem certain)
2.5! Alt-A loan (Comp settlement was part of income. Grr!)
-.875 for 5.375 rate.

I'm hoping the agent was incorrect on one of the ltv penalty points since
it had been the 1st week they were trained when I initially applied.

Will keep you posted.