White House details home refinancing plan

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White House details home refinancing plan
from MarketWatch.com - MarketPulse
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The White House on Wednesday began to provide details of President Barack Obama's State of the Union pledge to craft a plan to give homeowners a chance to refinance at historically low interest rates. In a fact sheet, the White House said that the program will be focused on borrowers whose loans are not owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The program will be operated through the Federal Housing Administration. To qualify, borrowers will need to be current on their loan for the past 6 months and have missed no more than one payment in the prior 6 months. Borrowers will also have to meet a minimum credit score. The loans cannot be larger than current FHA conforming loan limits that range as high as $729,750 in high cost areas. The mortgages to be refinanced must be for a family's owner-occupied principal residence. The cost of the program is estimated between $5 and $10 billion, to be paid for by a fee on large financial firms, the White House said. The administration is also asking Congress to streamline refinancing to all borrowers with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans.