We have been getting some questions on what to expect on interest rates for HARP 2.0 loans. The simple answer is that as of May 2012 rates on HARP 2 loans have reportedly been mostly in the mid to high 4’s. Here are some more details:
– If your 1st mortgage is less than 125% of the current value of the home you can get a HARP 1.0 rate. Those rates have been a bit lower than HARP 2.0 loans. HARP 1.0 rates have reportedly been mostly in the mid to low 4s this month.
– Don’t expect rates at 4% or less for a 30 year fixed HARP loan. HARP loans, while subsidized by Fannie or Freddie, are still high risk loans because they by definition are for homes with little or no equity. As a result 30 year fixed HARP loan rates are not the extremely low teaser rates banks love to advertise to lure customers in.
– Freddie HARP loans tend to have higher rates than Fannie HARP loans. Authorized lenders nearly universally report that Freddie is more difficult to work with than Fannie and thus investor demand for Freddie loans is lower than for Fannie loans. The end result is that rates on Freddie HARP loans are routinely as much a .25% higher than rates on similar Fannie HARP loans.
– Rates on non-owner-occupied HARP loans tend to be higher than rates for owner occupied properties.
– The rate and fee hits for lower credit scores are surprisingly minimal on HARP 2.0 loans. In other words people with less than optimal credit can often get the same HARP 2 rates as people with great credit scores.
We’ll post on more quirks and details of Fannie vs Freddie HARP loans soon. But in the meantime contact us in the sidebar to have us look at your specific situation. If you look like a good candidate for a HARP loan we can connect you with an authorized lender who can get you an quote on a HARP loan.