The president addressed the nation today from Falls Church, Va., to announce a widespread housing effort that tackles everything from refinancing non-Fannie and Freddie borrowers to a homeowners “bill of rights.”

Is this proposed refinance plan–that can potentially save you $3,000 a year–a game changer or a pipe dream? At the moment, I—along with many others—am leaning towards the latter. Why? Plain and simple: it requires Congressional approval.

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On Tuesday, blog.HSH.com reader Diana wrote in with the following comment:

I have perfect credit, have never been late on a payment, have a low debt-to-income ratio, but I can’t qualify for HARP because I currently have mortgage insurance. WTF? Is this a way to get people to buy mortgage insurance? I am so confused by this. I also heard there is going to be a HARP 3.

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Number seven on our Top 10 most popular articles of 2011 is the refinance article, “HARP 2.0: Your 5 steps to approval.”

Publish date: November 09, 2011
Written by: Dan Green

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Number 10 on our Top 10 most popular articles of 2011 is the refinance article, “Why is it so hard to be approved for a HARP refinance?”

Publish date: March 30, 2011
Written by: Gina Pogol

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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac released their details of the expanded HARP program to lenders yesterday (lenders can begin accepting applications Dec. 1). While the language in the GSE’s releases was rather technical, meant for lenders as opposed to borrowers, we deciphered the biggest changes and explained what they will mean to homeowners in a blog post titled, “Fannie, Freddie release HARP 2.0 details.”

“Details of the expanded refinance program are just coming out, but the enhancements seem very likely to bring both lenders and borrowers to the table,” said Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH.com. “Among the changes are lower costs for borrowers, easier income qualifications and greater liability protection for lenders,” Gumbinger added.

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It happened much later in the day than anticipated, but both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have released the details to HARP 2.0.

While both documents are meant for lenders, and thus are rather technical, we’ve just begun to dig out the specifics, and will have more details on HARP 2.0 as they become available.

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There was great deal of fanfare back in February 2009 when President Obama announced his three-pronged attack on the sinking housing market and homeowners it was taking down with it. He stood in front of a crowd in Mesa, Arizona and said, “We will make it possible for an estimated four to five million currently ineligible homeowners who receive their mortgages through Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to refinance their mortgages at lower rates.”

Over two years later and only about 900,000 homeowners have been so fortunate. 

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Changes to HARP

Over the last month or so, talks have circulated on Capitol Hill concerning an update to the federal government’s Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP).

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First, two questions to consider

Question1: What has been one of the biggest stumbling blocks of the HARP program?

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On this blog, the comments from readers frustrated with their mortgage servicers never seem to stop rolling in. By now, most of you are likely familiar with the complaints we’ve been hearing for years.

Whether it’s HAMP trial payments that extend past the stated three months (often continuing for a year or even more), or an unexplained denial from one of the government’s housing-preservation efforts, the crux of most of our comments deal with a frustration over the lack of communication between borrower and servicer.

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