More than 1.1 million homeowners took advantage of extremely low interest rates and refinanced in 2012 through the Home Affordable Refiance Program (HARP).  The Obama Administration created HARP in the wake of the housing meltdown to help homeowners whose property values had decreased. And some with big decrease were among those helped. Underwater homeowners, with homes worth less than their original mortgages, represented 18% of the HARP refinancings in December 2012.

HARP is strictly  for homeowners with Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae  mortgages made before May 31, 2009.

Why Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae?

In today’s mortgage universe, you borrow from a bank and then the bank often sells the mortgage to one of these financial giants. Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were taken over by the government in 2008. While the government intends to phase them out, the agencies are supposed to be a backstop for banks and homeowners now. By buying mortgages Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae say they provide banks with cash and help homeowners get lower interest rates.

A report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) says  California (301,327), Florida (175,686), Illinois (147,252), Michigan (144,709) and Arizona (106,387) are the top five states for HARP refinancing since 2009.

You can find out if your mortgage is owned by Fannie Mae by clicking on this link http://knowyouroptions.com/loanlookup, and if it’s owned by Freddie Mac by clicking on this link www.freddiemac.com/my-mortgage.

Don’t Pay for Help

You don’t have to pay anyone to get a Harp loan. A mortgage lender can help you.

We’ve got a lot more good stuff here on ConsumerMojo.com including How Do I Refinance My Mortgage?

Like us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter.