To date over $50 billion has been spent of the $787 billion stimulus bill towards helping homeowners avoid foreclosure through Stimulus Mortgage Help. This Stimulus Mortgage Help comes by way of various Government Programs that encourage banks to modify the mortgages of homeowners that are in financial trouble.
There are Four (4) Major Government Programs that came about during and after the Stimulus that offer mortgage help and relief to homeowners in trouble. Here are the programs and how they can help you:
The most common source of stimulus mortgage help is the Obama Loan Modification Program, the technical name of which is the Making Home Affordable Program. This program offers homeowners the option to refinance or modify their mortgage to affordable payments allowing them to avoid losing their homes.
Under the loan modification side of the Making Home Affordable Program, homeowners can reduce their monthly mortgage payments to 31% of their monthly gross income; to find out what your new mortgage payment would be for your home, merely multiply the amount you make before taxes by .31!
Qualification for the Making Home Affordable stimulus mortgage help is based on a couple of key questions, which are as follows:
Is your home your primary residence?Is your loan balance less than $729,750?Are you experiencing financial hardship and having a tough time making your mortgage payments?Did you get your mortgage before January 1, 2009?Is your payment (including Taxes and Insurance) higher than 31% of your gross income?If you’ve answered yes to all of the above questions, you most likely qualify for mortgage help. If you’re unsure whether or not you qualify for stimulus relief, or need more information, complete the contact form on this page and we’ll help you out!
Under the refinancing side of the Making Home Affordable, homeowners may be eligible to refinance their home loan provided they meet the following simple criteria:
Do you own a one – four unit home?Is your loan currently owned by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae?Are you current on your mortgage?Is the balance of your loan less than 125% of what the home is worth?If you’ve answered yes to the above questions, you may qualify for a refinance; however, often homeowners get better results through a loan modification than a refinance. Read about the pros and cons of refinancing and loan modification here .
The Mod-in-a-Box program came about when the FDIC took over Indymac Bank. Qualification for Stimulus Mortgage Help under Mod-in-a-Box is very similar to the loan modification side of Making Home Affordable, with the exception that your lender must be Indymac FSB, and your “affordable payment” is 38% of your gross income. For more information on this program, please read this post.
The very best FHA Loan Modification Program is FHA HAMP (Home Affordable Modification Program). FHA HAMP’s guidelines are almost identical to the Making Home Affordable Loan Modification Program, however FHA HAMP is strictly for loans underwritten by the Federal Housing Association. There’s a huge amount of information to cover on FHA HAMP, and rather than discussing it here, check out this post for all the program guidelines if your loan is an FHA loan.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency, or FHFA, monitors loans originated and serviced by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The FHFA Loan Modification Program offers a comprehensive program to help homeowners that are facing financial difficulty and in danger of defaulting on their mortgage. For more information on the FHFA Loan Modification Program, please visit http://www.fhfa.gov.
If you’re having trouble making your mortgage payments on time and are in need of stimulus help, Modification Zoom can assist you in getting the help that you need. Complete the contact form at the top right and we will contact you immediately!
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