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HARP refinance chart courtesy of Housingwire.com
HARP refinancing beat 2012 estimates with nearly 1.1 million loans closed last year. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac released a report for the Federal Housing Finance Agency confirming last year totaled nearly half of the 2.2 million loans completed since the HARP program was announced in 2009.The majority of homes were primary residences with 1.89 million while 69,522 others reduce their payments on second homes and 199,672 dropped their rates on investment properties.The states with the most HARP refinance loans since 2009 were California with 301,327 refinances, Florida with 175,686, Illinois with 147,252, and Michigan HARP Refinance loans rounding up the top HARP states with 144,709 loans completed.
Underwater mortgages can benefit through the HARP program to reduce their mortgage rates and terms by completing a refinance. Most borrower do not need an appraisal even if it is concluded that they owe significantly more than their home is worth. Some lender add overlays limiting the loan to value ratio at 125% while other allow Unlimited LTV HARP Refinancing. This means that even if your house is valued at $100,000 and you currently owe $200,000 (200% LTV) you would still be able to qualify if you are working with the right lender.