WASHINGTON – Feb. 8, 2011 – A government program intended to help hundreds of thousands of underwater homeowners is off to a slow start.
Since its September launch, only 38 homeowners have refinanced mortgages through the FHA Short Refinance program, backed with $11 billion in federal funds. The Federal Housing Administration has said the program could eventually help 500,000 to 1.5 million borrowers.
The program requires mortgage owners to forgive at least 10 percent of a borrower’s unpaid principal so that the loan can be refinanced into an FHA loan at a lower interest rate. The goal: keep homeowners out of foreclosure even if they owe more on their homes than the homes are worth.
I want to Connect with YOU!