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Du Refi Plus™
DU Refi Plus is a Temporary Program
Extension of the Home Affordable Refinance Program
Announcement SEL-2011-02 March 14, 2011
On March 11, 2011, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced two changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). This program is for borrowers who have demonstrated an acceptable payment history on their mortgage but, due to a decline in home prices or where mortgage insurance is not available, have been unable to refinance to obtain a lower payment or move to a more stable mortgage product. The following changes will extend the availability of the program to additional borrowers:
- The program has been extended. Accordingly, lenders may continue to originate Refi Plus™ and DU Refi Plus™ loans with the HARP flexibilities provided the note date is on or before June 30, 2012, and whole loans are purchased by Fannie Mae no later than October 31, 2012 or in an MBS pool with an issue date no later than October 1, 2012.
- Currently, to be eligible for Refi Plus or DU Refi Plus the existing mortgage loan being refinanced had to be purchased by Fannie Mae prior to March 1, 2009 or in an MBS pool with an issue date prior to March 1, 2009. With these program changes, mortgage loans are now eligible if they were purchased by Fannie Mae prior to June 1, 2009 or in an MBS pool with an issue date prior to June 1, 2009.
Refinancing Is Easier With Fannie Mae's DU Refi Plus™
Desktop Underwriter Refi Plus (DU Refi Plus™), is offered by Fannie Mae to make refinancing faster and easier for many homeowners. Potentially, millions of Americans can benefit from the streamlined refinancing.
Looser restrictions can mean lower monthly payments for borrowers qualifying for the Fannie Mae refinancing program.
DU Refi Plus™ as part of the Making Home Affordable program the government recently introduced to improve the housing market. Homeowners can obtain refinancing through DU Refi Plus™ even if they have lower credit scores and less income documentation. In some cases, the DU Refi will waive the requirement for an appraisal.
What is DU Refi Plus?
Under DU Refi Plus™, the Fannie will identify existing Fannie Mae loans and check their performance history. Go to Information to check if loan is currently owned by Fannie Mae
Homeowners can use DU Refi Plus™ to refinance up 125 percent of their home's value and can provide only one pay stub for income documentation. In some instances, the Fannie Mae refinancing program will approve homeowners with credit scores under 580, the current minimum.
DU Refi Plus™ is designed to help financially struggling homeowners meet their mortgage payments to keep their homes by refinancing their mortgage and lowering their monthly payments. All home mortgages that Fannie Mae now owns or guarantees are eligible for the streamlined refinancing.
Although DU Refi Plus™ provides existing Fannie Mae mortgage loans substantially looser qualifications standards, the Fannie Mae refinancing program does have some guidelines that may restrict some homeowners.
Most Important Guidelines on DU Refi Plus™
- Cash-out refinancing can be more than $2,000 or 2 percent of mortgage amount
- New subordinate financing is prohibited
- All existing subordinations must be re-subordinated.
- Paying off existing subordinate financing is not allowed (limited cash out)
- Adjustable-rate mortgage loans with fixed terms of less than five years will not be approved
- Interest-only mortgages are not eligible for the Fannie Mae refinancing program
- Balloon mortgages are not eligible for the program
- MyCommunityMortgage (MCM) mortgages are not eligible
- Texas 50(a)(6) mortgages are not accepted
- HomeStyle Renovation mortgages are will not be approved for refinancing
