Archives

Making Home Affordable Plan

By Christy Brock

Christy Brock, Certified Short Sale Professional, is the Broker for Service First Real Estate. She holds a BA in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley and an MBA from The Johnson School at Cornell University. She founded Service First Real Estate in 2002 to provide straightforward and honest real estate advice and services to Bay Area residents.

 

Much has been written about President Obama's Making Home Affordable Plan. The Obama Administration estimates that 7 to 9 million homeowners will benefit from the plan, which will enable them to either refinance their current mortgage or do a loan modification. Whether or not you will be eligible is in part determined by your particular situation but also whether or not your lender opts into the program.

The Making Home Affordable Plan will help many Bay Area homeowners. The first level of help is to refinance your existing mortgage. You are eligible to refinance under the plan if you can answer YES to these 4 questions:

  1. Is this your primary residence?
  2. Are you current on your mortgage payments?
  3. Is the current value of your home greater than or equal to the amount you owe on your first mortgage?
  4. Do you have a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan?

If you can answer YES to all 4 of these questions, then congratulations! The next step for you is to gather your paperwork.

If you answered NO to any one of the above questions, then you still may be eligible for a loan modification.

Here's your test:

  1. Is this your primary residence?
  2. Is the amount you owe on your first mortgage equal to or less than $729,750?
  3. Are you having trouble paying your mortgage?
  4. Did you get your current mortgage before January 1, 2009?

If you can answer YES to all 4 of these questions, then congratulations! The next step for you is to gather your paperwork.

The bottom line is that there may be help available to you. You are not alone. Before you run up your credit card balances and run through your savings, talk to a Professional and learn about your options.

 

FEEDBACK: CLICK HERE to email comments and feedback. Please note the title of the article or the author's name. Include your own name or type "name withheld" by request. Thoughtful responses will be published in our next edition.
Top of Page