The original HARP program was developed to help refinance borrowers with home that have 125% Loan to Value (borrowers who have a first mortgage balance of up to 125 percent of the home’s current value).  In areas like San Diego, this did little to no good as many of our County’s homes and borrower’s in distress have home well over this 125% mark.  The new, revamped, HARP program will not take value into account or need an appraisal in most cases.  We are also being told that much of the criteria required to qualify is also being loosened and many borrowers will be able to go “no-doc’ or “light-doc”.

This new program started in December, 2011… however for borrowers over 125% LTV it will begin sometime in the first quarter of 2012.  It was originally set to expire in 2012 however it has been extended through December 31, 2013. President Obama said the process would be streamlined in order to make it less onerous on borrowers.  There are numerous other qualifications.

As always, the devil is in the details. The four biggest lenders — Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Citi have agreed to participate, but that participation is voluntary and each bank has the right to make changes to the program. That could make it difficult for borrowers to understand what the program at their bank is and why it is different from what they’ve been hearing from other news sources.

Also, the biggest problem in my opinion is that none of these modification programs offer a reduction in principal balance… which is what a borrower with over 125% LTV truly is seeking.  Until that happens (when pigs fly), modifications will remain a failure overall.

Good luck out there, San Diego Homeowners, let me know if you’d like details on how to get out from under the debt completely through a short sale.

Brian Ruhl
The Ruhl Team
**Over 400 Short Sales Sold...**
REALTOR/Short Sales, HAFA Certified
www.SanDiegoHopeNow.com / www.RuhlTeamRealEstate.com
3636 Nobel Drive Suite 170, San Diego CA 92122
Cell: 619.228.6200
Lic# 01493664 (SDREAI)

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3. San Diego HAFA Update
4. Postponing a Trustee Sale Date with OneWest Bank to Short Sale
5. Bank of America is now doing HAFA short sales the right way