Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have received the green light from their regulator to refinance underwater homeowners with loan-to-value ratios as high as 125%.
The special refinancing plan that Obama administration officials unveiled in February limited the refinancing option to loans with LTV ratios of 80% to 105%. But the 105% LTV limit would not offer any relief for borrowers who have seen the values of their home erode by 15% to 30%. "The higher LTV refinancings will allow more homeowners to strengthen their finances by taking advantage of lower mortgage rates," Federal Housing Finance Agency director James Lockhart said.
Fannie Mae said it would accept delivery of the higher LTV loans starting Sept. 1. A Freddie Mac spokesman said it would start accepting the loans "now."
The GSE financing program is only available to borrowers with loans that are owned or guaranteed by Fannie and Freddie. They also have to be current on their mortgage payments.
"On the 105%-125% LTV loans, lenders can either sell us the loans for cash or deliver them into an MBS execution to be sold to other investors," a Fannie spokesman said.
