It has come to my attention that there is a little known element of the TARP/HARP money that may help our clients. As we all know the “Stated Income’ loan is a thing of the past and it has been difficult for self employed people to obtain financing, either purchase money or refinancing. I have recently learned with the help of one of my favorite lenders, Sarah Bozich of Chase (http://homeloan.chase.com/sarah.s.bozich), that in certain circumstances self employed people or people that once would have used a “Stated Income” scenario may be eligible for funds under provisions of the HARP.
Homeowners should be able to do a streamline refinance (for Fannie it is called: Refi Plus, for Freddie it is called Relief Refi). This is all part of the HARP....the new government Home Affordable Refinance Program. It involves a completed loan application, whatever application fee they collect up front, and self employed borrowers will need the first two pages of their tax return. This is the required proof that the Business/Income source exists. They will do a verbal VOE (Verification of Employment) on any cosigner. They may or may not do an appraisal. Even though they collect the first two pages of your tax return, there is no income reasonable risk evaluation.
Fannie and Freddie have different pricing methods so, depending on your credit score, that may or may not impact your rate .....even at that, now is a great time to purchase or refinance and this is a very easy way to go.....stated income, stated assets! Just like the good old days! You can go to Fannie's or Freddie's web sites to find out which one owns your loan – http://www.fanniemae.com/ or http://www.freddiemac.com/. Just an FYI, there is no number of financed property restrictions on these programs.
HARP or TARP … it is about time these funds start flowing to Main Street and help all of us win our way out of this recession. Good Luck and if Colorado Landmark can assist you in any way let us know – we want you to be successful!
Joel RipmasterOwner / Managing Broker
Colorado Landmark, Realtors
303-641-3377
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