One of the more surprising revelations from last week about the Obama Fannie/Freddie program is that it does not apply exclusively to primary residences. Rather, it applies to any home that is backed or insured by Fannie or Freddie.
Of course to take advantage of one of the new Home Affordable Refinance loans a borrower needs to be a rare breed:
– Credit scores above 680
– Plenty of income to easily afford the mortgage payments
– No second mortgage on the home (lest you incur a huge penalty)
– At least break even on the equity
I’m not sure where the administration is getting the 3-4 million homeowner number who will reportedly benefit from this refi portion the new plan, but with those kinds of restrictions it is hard to believe anywhere near that many homeowners will fit the mold.
Perhaps they are counting on the loan modification portion helping most of the people instead…
May 15th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
Is there any help for people who invested their life’s savings into investment properties and cannot keep up with their mortgage payments because tenants cannot pay? Can FHA refinance and offer some help? Nobody is talking about us but only trying to help owner occupied hoimes. By foreclosing these apartments, everybody is losing…landlords, tenants, labors, government. Is any government help out there for property owners?