In this great big world of mortgage lending there seems to be a ray of hope.

HARP 2.0 is an update of the Obama Administration’s Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) is designed to assist homeowners in refinancing their mortgages – even if they owe more than the home’s current value.

The ultimate goal is to allow a homeowner to do a mortgage refinance for a lower interest rate and overall monthly payment.

Here are the general eligibility guidelines for HARP:

• There is no loan-to-value cap in the new HARP, for fixed-rate loans. This is the most significant change of HARP 2.0. Under previous versions of HARP, the LTV could not exceed 125%.
• The loan on your property is owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Determine if you have a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan by going online (check Fannie; and check Freddie) or by calling 800-7FANNIE or 800-FREDDIE (8 am to 8 pm ET).
• At the time you apply, you are current on your mortgage payments. You can have one 30-day late payment in the past 12 months, but none within the past 6 months.

The FHFA’s official press release contains an FAQ section. In it, you’ll find more defined qualification standards, as well as information related to condominiums and to mortgage insurance.

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