Posted by Vincent Spilotro on 8/28/13 5:59pm
Msg #482400

Where the heck is HARP 3

I hear Obama is going to be pushing HARP 3 when the house gets back in session this September. Anyone else hear much? Any LO's talking much about it?

Reply by Larry/IL on 8/28/13 6:29pm
Msg #482403

By the time they could pass HARP 3.0, there may not be much of a benefit to many with rates raising.

Reply by ME/NJ on 8/28/13 7:12pm
Msg #482406

Right now the bottom line is 4.75% so unless you have 5.75 or higher it's not even worth it. With the high taxes in NJ most people who saved on P and I the new tax rate killed the savings. Rates need to drop to 4% again for it to work in my area. What people are doing again are ARMs.

Reply by PegiT_MN on 8/28/13 8:12pm
Msg #482410

HARP 3 is not about rate.....it's about loosening up the underwriting guidelines to allow homeowners who did not qualify for HARP 1 or HARP 2 to finally be able to refinance at a lower interest rate than what they have now. It opens up the door for non-government backed borrowers, and it eliminates the need for an appraisal entirely. They are projecting that HARP 3 would allow 3 million more homeowners the opportunity to refinance.

http://harp-mortgage.com/harp-3-0/

Reply by Vincent Spilotro on 8/28/13 8:41pm
Msg #482419

I did some more research... and you are spot-on PegiT. I see that there are a ton of non-fannie/freddie loans out there pre 2007 that are NOT eligible for Harp 1 or 2. Looks to me like if rates stay below 6% things will be looking good.

Reply by PegiT_MN on 8/28/13 8:51pm
Msg #482420

Thank you Vincent......and you are spot-on as well my friend. We don't need rates to be as low as they have been in order for this next wave of borrowers to benefit from HARP 3. I have friends with great credit who have been sitting upside down at 6.5 and 7% for the past three years that are praying for HARP 3 to pass. I'm calling my congressman tomorrow.

Reply by loancloser46 on 8/28/13 9:09pm
Msg #482422

Great idea, contact your congressperson, bad news is that...

they are not in session again until November. Still the more calls and emails they get the better chance for this happening quicker. Flood them !!!! Its easy and quick. Just go onto their website.

Reply by MW/VA on 8/28/13 9:12pm
Msg #482424

That's right. There are still a lot of folks out there that

haven't been able to refi., especially with conventional loans. Harp3 will help those who have been left out.

Reply by Claudine Osborne on 8/28/13 9:30pm
Msg #482425

Re: That's right. There are still a lot of folks out there that

I spoke to a mortage broker today about this and he predicts that we will be busy with this next year as lenders will be accepting lower credit scores too..People that couldnt refi before will now be able to!

Reply by Larry/IL on 8/29/13 7:21am
Msg #482440

I don't think Mortgage brokers know as much n/m

Reply by Larry/IL on 8/29/13 7:25am
Msg #482441

Re: I don't think Mortgage brokers know as much

as major lending institutions. It was in the news earlier this week that Wells Fargo was laying off 2300 in their mortgage division. I had read somewhere that Wells alone is planning on laying off over 7000 mortgage related employees this year.

I don't see this as a sign that the mortgage business is going to be income sustaining for Notary Signing Agents for quite a while.

Reply by Bear900/CA on 8/29/13 11:31am
Msg #482479

Re: I don't think Mortgage brokers knowas much - wrong!

I disagree.

Non-bank LOs (brokers and correspondents) are licensed by the state and Feds and often belong to mortgage associations where knowledge is shared. There is a strong camaraderie among them.

Bank LOs are out of the loop entirely, are not licensed, do not take required annual NMLS education on such things as ethics and non-conforming products. They generally will not attend mortage association meetings to invest in themselves.

Since their banks don’t carry all products their in-house knowledge will be limited accordingly. Ask any bank LO about current compliance and the future of the industry and see what you get.

As to WF, they seem to be mostly knee-jerk reactors to what is going on evidenced by their layoffs. They will knee-jerk react again if HARP 3.0 takes off.

Some things to think about: One of the plans for 2.0 or 3.0 is to allow borrowers to refinance again after 6 months. Some home values are going up. Will some of these people refinance again even at a higher rate? Umm, yes. People are funny. That may help notaries.

This board gave a comprehensive and accurate prediction for notaries about HARP 2.0 long ago.
See Msg #409874. What bank employee had or offered this information?

This board also posted about various pilot programs back in Feb that are just now coming to light.
Msg #456454. They provide little value in my opinion.

As to Harp 2.0, the direction of the Federal Housing Finance Agency is to extend DU Refi Plus™ and Refi Plus™ applications until Dec. 31, 2015, and loans must be sold to Fannie Mae by September 2016. Too little too late for non-GSE loans unless they get included in the near future.

The odd thing about that is DU will become unreliable, not for aprovals but for compliance, after Jan1 as lenders will be caught juggling loans to meet requirements of QM, ATR and Desperate Impact. Huh? Ask your banker.

As mentioned, hopefully HARP 3 will allow portfolio loans (non-GSE) to be re-written. Citi was great with putting people into portfolio ARMs. Five year portfolio ARM holders have been cruising with light interest rates without HARP help. They are looking towards what little equity they have gained to hopefully refi or sell and get out. Start making contact with the likes of Citi if 3.0 passes with that feature or 2.0 adds it.

I personally think there are much smarter people here then I have seen at banks. It gives a chance to learn what those with their feet on the ground are thinking and up to. Any bankers on board?

Best!

Reply by NVLSlady/VA on 8/28/13 10:25pm
Msg #482428

Underwater

and not owned by Fannie (2 biggest impediments I saw when I help out a friend in the mtg biz). Also, many had 2 mortgages and equity wasn't there to combine.

Happily, many homeowners freely volunteered their feelings about their current lender, saying "I'm done! I want to go with somebody else!" Then, you just have to hope the credit is decent before you go breaking out the champagne.

Reply by Larry/IL on 8/29/13 7:21am
Msg #482439

HARP 3 is not directly related to rate.

You missed the point. If rates creep up much more, it will not be of any benefit for many to try and refinance under HARP 3. Sure those with rate of 6.5 and higher might benefit, but there are many between 4.75 and 6.5 that will have completely missed these historical low rates.

Also some HARPs have a couple thousand dollars in settlement charges. Everyday that goes by really nullifies any benefit from what now is only talk about HARP 3.

Reply by MW/VA on 8/29/13 9:32am
Msg #482455

I think Harp3 would have helped the couple I signed for the

other night--5.75% and $13k in closing costs ($9k origination fee). The broker made out on this one. I'm sure they didn't have much choice. Again, we don't know their situation or circumstances. I'm sure there are people out there with ARM's that are reaching their maximum, etc.

Reply by Vincent Spilotro on 8/29/13 9:48am
Msg #482460

Re: HARP 3 is not directly related to rate.

Thats exactly it, there are a millions of home owners sitting on a 6% and higher mortgage, and are NOT able to refinance under HARP 2. It looks like they WILL be able to refinance under HARP 3. It doesn't seem HARP 3 is targeting the people with a 4.75 rate.

Reply by Vincent Spilotro on 8/30/13 9:54am
Msg #482617

Rates down... hopefully this is a downward trend. Found a good article on it. http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/consumer_rates/322146.aspx