Ohio Mortgage Rates

Nearly one-fifth of all home owners in Ohio owe more on their mortgage than their homes are worth. In other words, they are underwater. The Buckeye State, in fact, ranks eleventh among all states, in terms of the percentage of homes that are underwater; the average in the Buckeye State is just slightly higher than the national average of 18%.

Among the most frustrating dilemmas of the underwater homeowner is that it is very difficult to refinance the loan. Most lenders will not refinance a mortgage that is worth less than the home. Lenders consider people in this situation as being at risk of losing their homes – or even walking away from them in frustration. Clearly, underwater homeowners are a serious issue. To make life easier and more affordable for homeowners, a federal bank regulator has introduced HARP 2.0 refinance. The special advantage of HARP 2.0 is that this program can refinance a home loan for more than 100% of the home value. In fact, of the nearly 1 million home owners who have used HARP 2.0 to refinance, many have borrowed more than 125% of the home value. On average, homeowners save about $250 monthly by going through a HARP refi.

To be eligible, your mortgage must be either owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, the giant government-chartered enterprises that own the majority of home loans in the country. In addition, borrowers must be current on their monthly mortgage payments to qualify for HARP 2.0. According to a recent article in the Dayton Daily News, 18% of Ohio home owners fall into this category, meaning that thousands of Ohioans may be eligible for this type of refinance.

Not all lenders offer HARP 2.0, so it may require some research to find one who does. Also, some of the lenders who offer HARP 2.0 drefis add fees of their own to the interest rate, so comparison shopping is a must. So is perseverance: If you are turned down by one lender, you should not give up, but instead apply to another. Different mortgage lenders have different lending standards, and being refused by one institution doesn’t mean you won’t be accepted by another. For convenience, the online form is available for submission without the need of a social security number. There are many lender available through this process in order to make this financial move easier.

FreeRateUpdate.com surveys more than two dozen wholesale and direct lenders’ rate sheets to determine the most accurate mortgage rates available to well qualified consumers at about a 1 point origination fee.