Denied HARP refi because Fannie is not providing "Appraisal Waiver"

[Crazyzus]

Hopefully I'll be able to get some direction from here because I've had nothing but issues trying to get my HARP refi pushed through.

Back in September I contacted aimloan to try to get a refi done on my condo. I was approved up to at least 115% of my LTV but my PMI company (MGIC) was limiting me to 105%, so I had an appraisal done. It's a small condo, I owed about $111,000 at that point and the appraisal came in at $100,000 even. Not wanting to spend $8000 (principle paydown plus fees) or so to refi I gave up.

Soon after I heard about the second phase of HARP coming through and saw that my PMI company was fully on board with the changes. So I thought, great I'll just wait until March 17 and I'll be saving myself some money. Well that date came and I'm worse off now than I was with the orginal HARP. I contacted aimloan/quicken/Prime lending (given to me by Erik) and all gave me pretty much the same result. My application was approved only up to 105% of my LTV (from Fannie, aimloan was able to run a 25 year and get 109.9% LTV) but now they wouldn't even start the refi because Fannie was requiring an appraisal.

ANY help with this would be greatly appreciated. I'm stuck in a mortgage at 6.625% and it seems like I'm well within Fannie's requirements to get this done. I'm beginning to get very frustated with this whole experiance.

[Cat Damiano]

HI Crazyus,


Welcome to the forum and thank you for joining.........


Try contacting Erik Sandstrom to see if he can help, he has been able to help other members going through the HARP process.

He can be reached here;

Erik Sandstrom
Direct: (619)379-8999
erik.sandstrom@wjbradley.com

[Tee-Dub]

Sounds like he already contacted Erik, according to the post. This seems to be the first answer given to everyone, "Contact Erik".

[Cat Damiano]

This would be because Erik's company has expanded programs that the big banks are not offering in regards to HARP and his rates can almost always beat theirs. He may not be able to help everyone as may have been the case with this member, but his efforts to try to workout a solution if he can, do not go unnoticed here on our forum.

FYI, he has been around on our forum helping members on LoanSafe for a couple of years now and has been able to help many members.

[Tee-Dub]

I understand this and am grateful that he takes the time to try and help us all. I just find it funny that every post is usually referred to him instantly, even when the poster states they've already spoken with him. I'm new here so don't want to make any waves, sorry!

[Cat Damiano]

Yes I saw that after I sent my post as I do read and post to many many posts on a daily basis and once in a while may miss a name in the post as I did here.

[Crazyzus]

Unfortunately, Erik isn't licensed in my state (MA) or else I'm sure I wouldn't have to post my problem in this forum!

[Cat Damiano]

Even though it is a Fannie Mae backed loan, you can try looking into the Freddie Mac list to see who else in your area is doing HARP and ask if they refi Fannie Mae loans as well.

Home Affordable Refinance Lenders - Freddie Mac

Getting around the appraisal requirement may be difficult, but you can ask around and see.

[Erik Sandstrom]

I wish I was able to help Mass, here's my opinion on the appraisal waivers:

If you do not obtain an appraisal waiver however still are receiving "Approve/Eligible" feedback from dekstop underwriting, make sure the loan officer you're working with runs the automated underwriting system with a value LOWER than you think the home would appraise for. That way in the event your home comes back and appraises for less than you expect - you know you will still be approved through underwriting (understanding that everything else does matter, income...etc).

There is also an update coming to the program in the next couple weeks that will enhance the appraisal waiver portion of Desktop Underwriter. Fannie Mae just sent me an update in regards to this. It sounds like they are implementing a system similar to Freddie Mac which has a HVE (Home Value Estimator) that determines whether or not the lender will require an appraisal.

From my experience about 1 out of every 4 files ran through desktop underwriting does NOT obtain a waiver, what causes this? I believe the system has an automated valuation model (AVM) built into the program which has a confidence score behind it. This takes a look at comparable sales in your area, if there are none to determine the value or very little - at that time it could require an appraisal. That's just my opinion...

Any questions, never hesitate to ask. Crazyzus - if you're working with a lender and the loan officer is running into brick walls, feel free to have them call me.