Home | Newsletter | Advertise
loading...

A Refinance Program For Low Income Homeowners Launches This Summer

  • April 30th 2021

by Nena Perry-Brown

A long stretch with near-record low interest rates motivated a lot of homeowners to refinance over the past year. In a couple of months, there may be an easier way for low-income borrowers to get in on the savings as well. 

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced a program this week that would enable homeowners with Fannie Mae- or Freddie Mac-backed mortgages to refinance. Lenders would be required to ensure eligible borrowers get payments reduced by at least $50 per month and a minimum 50-basis-point interest rate reduction.

The refinance program would also reimburse lenders who credit borrowers up to $500 for an appraisal if they are unable to get an appraisal waiver. For borrowers whose remaining balances are no more than $300,000, the program would also waive the typical upfront 50 basis point adverse market refinance fee.

Eligible borrowers cannot earn more than 80% of the area median income, can't have missed any payments in the past six months (or more than one in the past year), and must also meet debt-to-income ratio and FICO score requirements. By FHFA's estimates, borrowers who use the refinance program could save $100-$250 per month, on average.   

See other articles related to: fannie mae, fhfa, freddie mac, mortage refinance, refinancing

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/a-refinance-program-for-low-income-homeowners/18203.

DC Real Estate Guides

Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market

We've collected all our helpful guides for buying, selling and renting in and around Washington, DC in one place. Start browsing below!

First-Timer Primers

Intro guides for first-time home buyers

Red Flags Revealed During a Home Inspection Top 5 Tax Breaks For Homeowners Tax Relief for DC Homeowners
Condo Fee Tutorial What is a Rent Back? 10 Ways To Tell If a Home Renovation is Well Done
Obtaining a Basic Business License For Your Rental What is an Adjustable Rate Mortgage? The Splitting the Rent Formula
How Much Cash Do You Need to Buy a House? Is This Condo Building Financially Healthy? Interest Rates and Mortgage Points
The Scoop on Mortgage Insurance

Unique Spaces

Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro

The Most Intriguing Loft in DC The R Street Firehouse DC’s One-Room House
Dupont Circle’s Old Frat House To Become Alley Home Best Transition From a Garage To a Home The Roundhouse
Tilden Gardens Restaurant-Turned-Home Hits Market Next Week Logan Circle’s Most Intriguing Garage Frank Lloyd Wright Goes Green in Kensington
Sears Bungalow Gets a Modern Makeover Old Town General Store Becomes Three-Level Home Making the Most of a Skinny House
A Studio 27 Renovation on Capitol Hill Once a Carriage House, Now a Home The Bank that Became a Home
From Pie to Hooch to Heroin to Home The Live-Aboards of Gangplank Marina A Treehouse with Rock Creek Park As A Backyard
Modern Tranquility in Sperryville Saddle Up For Stable Living Throwing a Curve at 550 Square Feet
A Modern Hilltop Retreat Tilden Street Restaurant Becomes Spacious Home Focus on Design: A Vastu Unit at 22 West
The DC Area’s First Net Zero Home A Yankee Goes Green DC’s First Carbon Neutral Home
Eco-Friendly Alley House Off H Street The Gym, The Stables and The Firehouse