HARP refinancing question

shivabadru
Contributions:3

I approached Chase, the servicer, for a HARP refinancing on my first mortgage owned by Fannie Mae. Chase turned me down saying that I was late on my payments and so did not qualify. I was surprised because I was not late beyond 30 days. I was late beyond their grace period. I had earlier gone to the Fannie Mae website to check out the eligibility and it clearly said that I had to be late beyond 30 days, and not the 15 day grace period. Can Chase do this? Can they put in such restrictions even though Fannie Mae does not have them?

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March 20 2010 - Morningside Heights

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Replies (4)

Justin Sheftell, "Courtesy Mortgage"
- (63 reviews)
Contributions:4274

Chase can decline for any reason they like. Participation in HARP is optional to lenders and they can impose "overlays" which are stricter guideline to those recommended by Fannie Mae.

If your LTV is 105 or less, you can find another lender to do your HARP loan.

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March 20 2010

Wayne Brown, "SDMortgagefinder"
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Contributions:1433

Justin knows his stuff in this area.

Good Luck

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March 20 2010

Loan Officer, "MarylandMortgages"
- (11 reviews)
Contributions:2097

Justin hit it on the head. I would recommend contacting a different lender.

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March 20 2010

Don Groff, "Austin Texas Lender"
- (7 reviews)
Contributions:124

You are going to want to talk to other lenders that offer the HARP program. All lenders have their own layers of risk and lenders like Chase, Wells Fargo and BofA often have lower tolerances.

Other lenders will also know you pay after the 15th because of the late fees that will show up on your payoff but I will bet you can find someone to get your loan done.

Good Luck to you.