Article Courtesy of The Palm
Beach Post
By Kimberly Miller
Published
May 20, 2015
A mortgage modification program that was scheduled to
expire at the end of this year has been extended through 2016 as 604,680
eligible borrowers nationwide have failed to apply for the plan.
The program, which could help 81,422 Florida homeowners reduce their
monthly mortgage payments, is the Home Affordable Refinance Program, or
HARP, which cuts mortgage payments on underwater loans by reducing loan
interest rates.
Borrowers can save up to $3,000 per year by refinancing through HARP,
according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Earlier this Month, Melvin Watt, director of the Federal Housing Finance
Agency, announced the extension of HARP and another government program,
the Home Affordable Modification Program.
“Although the number of new borrowers entering these two programs
continues to decline, in part because many eligible borrowers have
already taken advantage of them and in part because of recovering house
prices, lenders and servicers are continuing to approve new HAMP
modifications and HARP refinances,” Watt said. “Extending HAMP and HARP
through the end of 2016 will provide real relief for borrowers who
continue to face challenges either paying their mortgage or refinancing
their loan.”
In South Florida, which includes Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade
counties, 17,227 eligible homeowners have not taken advantage of the
refinance program. That includes 3,877 in Palm Beach County, 6,054 in
Broward, and 7,311 in Miami-Dade.
For more information about HARP, go to
www.harp.gov
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