President Barack Obama unveiled his new housing plan in Las Vegas Monday night. His plan would allow home owners who are still current on their federally-backed mortgage payments to refinance no matter how much their home value has dropped.
Midland Area Homes Executive Director Sally York says it couldn’t come at a better time. York works with people who have lost their home or on the verge of the losing their home. York says the new plan would help people long before her organization would step in.
"If we can get them through this problem and the next couple of years, things should be better for everybody,” said York.
In President Obama’s new plan the current cap on the Housing Affordable Refinancing Program would be lifted and it would extend through 2013.
Critics say the restrictions may still be too narrow. For instance, only homeowners whose mortgages are backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be eligible for re-financing. You must have good credit and must have kept up with your mortgage payments, with no late payment in the past six months and and you cannot have refinanced previously under the home affordable refinance program.
