Mortgage Refinance under the Make Home Affordable Program..............

In the current economic climate many people are looking at the options available to them for mortgage refinancing under Obama's 'Make Home Affordable' program.

A significant difference between the 'Make Home Affordable' program and previous programs designed to help people in difficulty is that even people who are currently up to date on their mortgages may be eligible to apply and reduce their interest rates.

If your home has decreased in value and you have a mortgage through or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac you could be entitled to mortgage refinancing.

To be eligible the following conditions must be met:

• You must be the owner and occupant of one to four unit property


• The loan on the property must be owned or guaranteed(securitized) by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae


• You have to be current on your mortgage at the point of application, this means not being more than 30 days late on a payment for the mortgage during the previous 12 month period or if the mortgage is less than 12 months old you must not have missed a payment


• Your current income is sufficient to meet the repayments on the refinanced mortgage


• Refinancing of your mortgage makes the loan more affordable or stable over the long term


• The amount you owe on your current mortgage(first mortgage)is approximately the same or slightly less than the value of your house at the time of application

These are the primary conditions that need to be met for mortgage refinancing, so if you think that you are eligible you can contact your mortgage provider to request that you are considered for the program. They can confirm that you meet all the conditions and can give you a 'good faith' estimate on the costs for your new loan after refinancing so that you can assess if the new mortgage is an improvement over your existing loan, if it is not then you would be wiser not to proceed with refinancing.

Also be aware that even if you do meet all the conditions listed there is no guaranteed entitlement, there are other assessments and conditions that could possibly prevent you taking part in the program. This would be determined during the application process.