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The New Mortgage Plan – Who Qualifies?

Posted Thursday, March 27, 2008

The rate of foreclosures is at an all-time high and the real estate market is suffering as a result. As the market drops and a recession looms, mortgages and foreclosures are on the lips of anyone talking about the financial future of the county.

President Bush and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has announced their plans to help reduce the number of foreclosures and assist troubled homeowners nationwide. However, your next questions should be – what does this new plan entail and can I qualify?

The proposed new plan against foreclosures is set to address the issues of many struggling homeowners who have not been able to be reached by housing counselors who have had to individually monitor each homeowner case to determine whether or not assistance was needed.

Now, counselors will be able to more efficiently determine which mortgages need help and what type of help they could use. These counselors can look at a variety of factors like the type of mortgage they have, the size of their mortgage, their FICO scores and payment history to determine whether it would be beneficial to step in and make additional help with these mortgages before it is too late.

Roughly 1.2 million homeowners can qualify for this plan with some homeowners able to refinance into loans that will have better terms for them. Other homeowners can qualify for a five-year freeze on their current mortgage rates and see the boon in having stronger financial success. How do you know if this new plan against foreclosures can benefit you?

In order to qualify for the assistance from your mortgage servicer, you will need to have an ARM or Adjustable Rate Mortgage at subprime rates. The initial fixed-rate of the mortgage will need to be three or fewer years and your loan must have originated between January 1, 2005 – July 31, 2007.

Your initial reset needs to occur between January 1, 2008 and July 31, 2010. If you are one of the hundreds of thousands of homeowners who have already faced a rate reset, you are out of luck with this plan.

If you are currently behind on your loan, you won’t be able to qualify for a “fast” solution and will also be disqualified if the home is not your primary residence, like renters whose landlords face a foreclosure and the tenants face an immediate eviction.

If you are current with your loan payments, however, have some equity in your home and offer a good payment history and FICO score, you will be able to qualify for a refinance. Your mortgage servicer can work with your situation to get you a possible refinancing solution that better fits your financial outlook and avoids a significant rate increase.

You can qualify for a rate freeze if your loan-to-value ratio is 97 percent or higher, meaning you have less than 3 percent equity in your home. Your FICO score needs to be 660 or below and has not raised by more than 10 percent since you took out the loan as well.

If you are in a situation where you are thinking how can I sell my house fast myself then contact your local home buyer or local real estate investors. There are real estate investors who buy properties all over the nation; they are local to your area and professionals you can trust.