As we have noted before, rates on HARP 2.0 loans tend to be somewhat higher than rates on less risky mortgages. But even at rates slightly higher than other mortgage HARP 2 loans are often great options for those who can qualify. And rates on all types of mortgages are somewhat improving with the yield on the 10 year treasury note dipping again.

Rates on FHA loans are especially low lately — often lower than the best available rates on conventional mortgages. This is especially good news to folks who have FHA loans that are more than three years old current due to the new FHA streamline program set to launch in June 2012. But folks with VA and conventional mortgages now also have plenty of reason to investigate refinancing right now.

Contact us in the sidebar to learn more about the available programs and rates.

- 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.

We expect a similar underwriting traffic jam for FHA streamlines in June when the new FHA streamline program begins.

If you have a conventional loan backed by Fannie or Freddie and are interested in the HARP 2.0 program or if you have an FHA loan and are interested in the new FHA streamline program contact us in the sidebar right away to be connected with a participating authorized lender. The sooner you can start the process the better because as awareness of the program increases so will underwriting turn times.

As the HARP 2.0 program has gotten under way it has become evident that borrowers who currently have Fannie Mae loans have been getting appraisal waivers more often than borrowers who have Freddie Mac loans. The way the process works is the authorized bank inputs the loan details in the the Fannie or Freddie preliminary underwriting software and that software comes back with results, including preliminary approvals or denials and results on whether appraisals will be required or not. Early reports from participating lenders indicate that the Fannie Mae software has been waiving the appraisal more often than not. The Freddie Mac underwriting software has been much more likely to require an appraisal as part of the refinance process. There are rumors that the Freddie software will be getting an update and it will be easier to get an appraisal waiver with Freddie loans soon too but time will tell.

Of course in the end the appraisal is mostly an inconvenience because the HARP 2.0 program when fully implemented allows for refinances no matter how low the appraisal comes in. Still, avoiding the appraisal makes the refinance process go faster and saves borrowers a few hundreds dollars up front.

If you have an conventional loan backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (see here to check) and would like to learn more about the HARP 2.0 program or to be connected with a fully participating authorized lender/bank contact us in the sidebar.

Contact us in the sidebar right away to learn about the government-backed refinance programs that could help your family.

Contact us in the sidebar today if you have a conventional mortgage that was originated prior to May of 2009. Odds are pretty good that your mortgage will be invested in behind the scenes by either Fannie or Freddie and if it is you could be a good candidate to significantly reduce your interest rate and monthly payments through the new HARP 2.0 program.

For FHA loans that are more than three years old there is a new program that was just announced that is extremely beneficial. It allows FHA streamlines of those older FHA loans at virtually no costs and without increasing mortgage insurance fees. While the April 9 deadline on FHA streamlines does not apply to FHA loans that are from April of 2009 or older, contact us in the sidebar if you have one of these older FHA loans as well to learn more about that terrific new program that was just announced.

For FHA loans originated after May 2009 the options are more limited and the clock appears to be ticking. The FHA is planning on significantly increasing its mortgage insurance fees on all FHA loans originated after April 9, 2012. So if you have an FHA loan at a rate of 5% or higher that you got after May of 2009 contact us in the sidebar ASAP as well to see if you can streamline to a better rate before the pending FHA mip rate increase this April.

Note: If you don’t have an FHA loan there are programs available for borrowers with conventional loans or VA loans as well.