Attention All Borrowers Who Have Refinanced Their: Fill & Download for Free

You are referring to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s Enhanced Relief Refinance Mortgage program.Donald Trump had nothing to do with it. Zero. Fannie and Freddie, commonly referred to as Government Sponsored Enterprises GSEs), are publicly-held corporations, not government agencies. They have been in conservatorship in the wake of the mortgage crisis of 2008. Fannie and Freddie have been cash cows for Treasury for at least eight years since repaying the loans advanced to them in 2008. They have contributed more than $58 billion to the General Fund since 2012.The GSEs function as before, except they are under the supervision of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, currently being administered by one Mark Calabria, a political appointee of the current administration. People in the mortgage industry have little respect for Mr. Calabria’s handling of the two investors. They generally see him as inept and out of touch with the mortgage finance industry.With all that as a preface, here is how the programs work.Either of the GSEs must have purchased the existing loan after November 1, 2018The new loan must be for more than 97% of the home’s appraised valueThe borrower can have no more than one 30-day mortgage late—and none within the past six monthsThe borrower may not have a loan that they previously refinanced under the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP)The borrower’s existing loan must be at least fifteen months oldThe attentive reader will conclude that this program is likely to apply to very few homeowners. As the housing market has recovered and home prices continue to go up, most borrowers have enough equity in their homes to be able to refinance with a conventional loan. Furthermore, the time window for eligibility—November 1, 2018 to February 28, 2019 is very small. Only homeowners who bought or refinanced their homes during that four-month period would be eligible.Here’s what I think about the program—irrespective of who was responsible for creating it:It was a waste of my time even to read about it.

Nothing, James. It just needs to be seen. I’ll post it to my profile page. The story it tells is harrowing. I’m hurting myself just now, but give me three weeks and you can count on me too.(Maybe some other friends could post it as well.)James’ page explains:I'm a math adjunct at a couple of local colleges. Sometimes I get enough work to pay the rent, and sometimes I don't.This past spring semester, I definitely didn't get enough.I tried to make up the difference by picking up some contract work with a big textbook publisher, but between technological mishaps and possible attention deficit issues on my end (more on that later) and miscommunication bordering on deceit from the publisher, I missed deadlines and got significantly less out of the deal than I'd originally planned.If it was just me, I wouldn't ask for help. But my wife has multiple sclerosis and cancer, and she has to spend a significant amount of the time when she is feeling well, looking after her son/my stepson, who has neurofibromatosis type 2. My wife used to get SSI (a pittance) but they cut that down to zero once I started making barely enough for us to get by.I already went through a few years of serious unemployment / underemployment before I started teaching again. I've tapped out all of the family and friends I could beg or borrow from, and some of them don't even want to talk to me anymore. Last year we lost our apartment because I was in the famine stage of this feast-or-famine cycle of part-time college teaching. But even when my family and I spent last July in a motel room, burning over $3000 that had come too late to keep us out of that situation in the first place, I held fast because I knew that in the fall I would be working more than I'd ever worked before.And I tricked myself into thinking it wouldn't get this bad again.When we finally secured a new apartment, I did as much of the heavy lifting as I could while preparing to give a summer final, grade it as quickly as I could (which is not easy for me, as I'll discuss in a bit!) and start the fall semester the following week. My stepson can not lift much at all, and my wife is much smaller than me but she's usually game to do much more than I think she should--especially since I didn't want her aggravating her "arthritis" (we didn't know yet that there was cancer in her bones).We slept on a sleeping bag on the floor, for about a week, before I could get our beds out of storage! I felt awful for my wife, not even knowing what was really going on in her body. But I still believed, as I always do, that soon things would get better and stay better!For a few months, things did get better. I was working my butt off and we were getting by. I still had some of my old debt (including a title loan from when I was underemployed) but I didn't have to take on any new debt....until the spring semester, when I got barely any teaching work and then the contract work fell through. Since then, I've taken on some really bad, usuriousloans. Payday loans, installment loans, refinancing the title loan...and now these things are coming to hit me all at once. They've eaten my last paycheck completely and then some...after overdrafts and returned item fees, I'm $800 in the red and I know it will get worse soon.I believe things will get better eventually. I know I need to change direction and find a more reliable source of income. I'm seeing a psychiatrist later this month because I think I might have mental health needs affecting my work. If I'm right, maybe with treatment I can be much more effective.Before we got married, my wife told me a cool idea she had for an invention. I'm still hoping I can someday make enough money to send a little toward the patent attorney we talked to several years ago. I hope I can do it while she's still around to see it.I also want to be able to pay off all of my old debts. Even if some of the people who have helped me never talk to me again, I'd like to make up for the burden they took on in helping me before.If you're able to help dig us out of this hole we're currently in, I will be supremely grateful. And if I'm ever doing well enough that I can help others on this site, I'll remember each of you who helped make it possible. Thanks for reading.

As a mortgage executive recruiter, I have seen a complete turnaround in the human resources side of the mortgage business. Ten years ago, retail and wholesale lenders did not come to us in search of loan officers or originators; they pretty much hired anyone with a minimum amount of qualifications. Back then, lenders retained us to search for executives, team leaders, regional managers, branch managers, etc. We are still looking for those higher-level positions, but lenders are now asking us to look for qualified and talented mortgage originators as well.The atmosphere at mortgage lender offices in the United States from the beginning of the 21st century until the housing and credit markets collapsed in 2008 was busy, hectic, festive, aggressive, competitive, and creative. There was no shortage of refinance activity; some borrowers were refinancing three times in two years. Home equity lines of credit were offered as easily as one would offer a business card. By 2004, it seemed as if all borrowers in the U.S. had refinanced at least twice, and then the lending industry turned its attention to purchase loans. The idea of an ownership society, which had been pushed during the Reagan and Bush administrations, came full circle with the advent of subprime mortgages.Everyone involved in the mortgage lending process during the housing frenzy years ago was busy. There were many catered lunches provided by lenders who did not want their origination and processing staff to wonder too far from the office. Information technology was also making its way into the industry and changing the way things were done. A lot of money was being made, and the zeitgeist was at times chaotic and unrestrained; there was no sense of "What Will Tomorrow Bring?" and we all know how that finished up. In the end, irrational exuberance got the best of everyone. Here's a similar experience: Do you miss the '90's era of 'irrational exuberance?'Lots of professionals exited the mortgage industry after the housing bubble burst; however, those who stuck it out and stayed in the business are to be commended for their dedication. In 2013, these professionals are in high demand and short supply. I am constantly looking for them since my clients urgently need them at this time. There are licensing and education requirements now, as well as background checks. Things might be different now, but the market is very lucrative for the right people.