U.S. Department of the Treasury

(Archived Content)

2009-2-18-9-43-27-6747

Family A: Access to Refinancing

In 2006: Family A took a 30-year fixed rate mortgage of $207,000 on a house worth $260,000 at the time. (The family put just over 20% down.) They received a Fannie Mae conforming loan with an interest rate of 6.50%.

• Today: Family A has about $200,000 remaining on their mortgage but their home value has fallen 15 percent to $221,000.
  • Their loan-to-value ratio is now 90%, making them ineligible for a Fannie Mae refinancing.
• Under the Refinancing Plan: Family A can refinance to a rate of 5.16%. This would reduce their annual payments by nearly $2,350.

 
Family B: Access to Refinancing

In 2006: Family B took a 30-year fixed rate mortgage of $350,000 on a house worth $475,000 at the time. (The family put just over 26% down.) They received a Fannie Mae conforming loan with an interest rate of 6.50%.

• Today: Family B has about $337,460 remaining on their mortgage but their home value has fallen to $400,000.
  • Their loan-to-value ratio is now 84%, making them ineligible for a Fannie Mae refinancing.
• Under the Refinancing Plan: Family B can refinance to a rate of 5.16%. This would reduce their annual payments by nearly $4,000.

Family C: Eligible for Homeowner Stability Initiative

In 2006: Family C took out a 30-year subprime mortgage of $220,000, on a house worth $230,000 at the time (they put less than 5% down). Their mortgage broker – Mom & Pop Mortgage – sold their loan to Investment Bank. The interest rate on their mortgage is 7.5%.

• Today: Family C has $214,016 remaining on their mortgage but their home value has fallen -18% to $189,000. Also, in November, one parent in Family C was moved from full-time to part-time work, causing a significant negative shock to their income.
• Their loan is now 113% the value of their home, making them underwater and unable to sell their house.
• Meanwhile, their monthly mortgage payment is $1,538 and their monthly income has fallen to $3,650, meaning the ratio of their monthly mortgage debt to income is 42%.
• Under the Homeowner Stability Initiative: Family C can get a government sponsored modification that – for five years – will reduce their mortgage payment by $406 a month. After those five years, Family C's mortgage payment will adjust upward at a moderate, phased-in level.

 Homeowner Stability Initiative: How the   Program Works for the Lender, Government and Borrower

• First, Investment Bank (working through a mortgage servicer) reduces the interest rate so that the Family C's monthly debt-to-income ratio drops from 42% to 38%. This means that Investment Bank must reduce the interest rate from 7.50% to 6.38%, bringing down Family C's monthly payment from $1,538 to $1,387.
• Second, the government and Investment Bank share the cost of further reducing the interest rate so that the Family C's monthly debt-to-income level is lowered to 31%. Any dollar the bank spends is matched by the government. At this stage, Family C's interest rate is reduced from 6.41% to 4.43%.  In total, Family C's monthly payment has fallen from $ 1,538 to $1,132.
• If Family C remains current on their payments, they will receive incentive payments up to $1,000 a year, or $5,000 over five years, that would go towards reducing the principal they owe. Additionally, the mortgage servicer can earn an up-front incentive fee of $1,000, plus up to $1,000 per year in Pay for Success fees for three years, so long as Family C remains current.