So far we have not seen any announcements from any banks on how they plan to handle the new FHA guideline that allows FHA to help people who owe more than their house is worth (aka are “upside down) and on the verge of foreclosure refinance into a new loans. The HOPE loan portion of the new financing law allows FHA to back loans for for people in that situation for up to 90% of the appraised value of the home. There is some real skepticism in the industry about the program because it is voluntary of the part of banks but only time will tell on this one.
We will update you as soon as banks start announcing their policies on the issue. The new law goes into effect on October 1, 2008 but there is no telling when banks will be ready to do anything about it.
