More Changes to Make Refinancing Easier

Low refinance rates and recent changes to make refinancing possible for many homeowners is driving refinance applications higher. Since last October refinance applications have soared 50 percent. Millions of more homeowners are unable to take advantage of low rates because of barriers to refinancing; including the biggest barrier, owing more then their home is worth.

Just this past week President Obama called on Congress to make more changes to help homeowners who want to refinance. The President is asking to have a home appraisal be waived when refinancing. The cost of an appraisal isn't the most expensive cost when refinancing but often when an appraisal comes in lower than the loan amount or less than the required 20% equity the homeowner can't refinance.

The President is also asking to expand the refinance program that allows homeowners to refinance their loan even if they are underwater on their loan but are current on their payments. Right now only homeowners who have their mortgages backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac can refinance if they are underwater on their loan and current on their payments.

Loan Type

Purchase Refinance with Cash out Refinance

State

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District Of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

FICO Score

Superior (780-850) Exceptional (760-779) Excellent (740-759) Very Good (720-739) Good (700-719) Above Average (680-699) Average (660-679) Fair (640-659) Need Improvement (620-639) Poor (350-620)

Loan Amount

$

Points

Up to 0 points Up to 0.5 points Up to 1 points Up to 1.5 points Up to 2 points Up to 2.5 points Up to 3 points

LTV

%

Loan Term

 15-Year Fixed  20-Year Fixed  30-Year Fixed  5-Year ARM  7-Year ARM  10-Year ARM

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The lenders whose rates and other terms appear on this chart are ICB's advertising partners. They provide their rate information to our data partner RateUpdate.com. Unless adjusted by the consumer, advertisers are sorted by APR from lowest to highest. For any advertising partners that do not provide their rate they are listed in advertisement display units at the bottom of the chart. Advertising partners may not pay to improve the frequency priority or prominence of their display. The interest rates, annual percentage rates and other terms advertised here are estimates provided by those advertising partners based on the information you entered above and do not bind. Any lender Monthly payment amounts stated do not include amounts for taxes and insurance premiums. The actual payment obligation will be greater if taxes and insurance are included. Although our data partner RateUpdate.com collects the information from the financial institutions themselves, the accuracy of the data cannot be guaranteed. Rates may change without notice and can change intraday. Some of the information contained in the rate tables including but not limited to special marketing notes is provided directly by the lenders. Please verify the rates and offers before applying for a loan with the financial institution themselves. No rate is binding until locked by a lender.

Lender

APR / Rate

Fees / Points

Payment

NMLS #274058

5.552%

15-Year Fixed

5.375%

$4,638

Includes 0.637 points for $2,548

Lender Fees: $2,090

$3,242 /mo

Next >

NMLS #401822

5.554%

15-Year Fixed

5.250%

$8,000

Includes 1.000 points for $4,000

Lender Fees: $4,000

$3,216 /mo

Next >

NMLS #1025894

5.756%

15-Year Fixed

5.625%

$3,404

Includes 0.676 points for $2,704

Lender Fees: $700

$3,295 /mo

Next >

NMLS #6606

5.884%

15-Year Fixed

5.740%

$3,732

Includes 0.933 points for $3,732

Lender Fees: $0

$3,320 /mo

Next >

NMLS #274058

6.515%

5-Year ARM

6.375%

$5,894

Includes 0.951 points for $3,804

Lender Fees: $2,090

$2,496 /mo

Next >

NMLS #274058

6.632%

30-Year Fixed

6.500%

$5,506

Includes 0.854 points for $3,416

Lender Fees: $2,090

$2,529 /mo

Next >

NMLS #1025894

6.721%

30-Year Fixed

6.625%

$3,956

Includes 0.814 points for $3,256

Lender Fees: $700

$2,562 /mo

Next >

NMLS #401822

6.770%

30-Year Fixed

6.625%

$5,995

Includes 1.000 points for $4,000

Lender Fees: $1,995

$2,562 /mo

Next >

NMLS #3030

6.889%

15-Year Fixed

6.750%

$3,500

Includes 0.875 points for $3,500

Lender Fees: $0

$3,540 /mo

Next >

NMLS #6606

6.960%

30-Year Fixed

6.875%

$3,468

Includes 0.867 points for $3,468

Lender Fees: $0

$2,628 /mo

Next >

NMLS #3030

7.589%

30-Year Fixed

7.500%

$3,500

Includes 0.875 points for $3,500

Lender Fees: $0

$2,797 /mo

Next >

Rate data provided by RateUpdate.com. Displayed by ICB, a division of Mortgage Research Center, NMLS #1907, Equal Housing Opportunity. Payments do not include taxes and insurance premiums. Actual payments will be greater with taxes and insurance included. Rate and product details.

All these changes would help homeowners who can save significant amounts of money by refinancing but can't because of owing more then their home is worth. Millions of homeowners are in this situation has home prices have declined as much as 50% in some areas of the country since the housing peak.

The last proposal Democrats will introduce would waive closing costs for refinancing for homeowners who apply their mortgage savings to their principal.

In March of this year the Federal Housing Administration announced price cuts to FHA’s Streamline Refinance Program. Starting June 11, 2012, the FHA will lower its Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium (UFMIP) to just .01 percent and reduce its annual premium to .55 percent for certain FHA borrowers.

This significant reduction in mortgage insurance required for FHA loans can benefit millions of borrowers whose mortgages are currently insured by the FHA. To qualify for lower refinance insurance, borrowers must be current on their existing FHA-insured mortgages which were endorsed on or before May 31, 2009.