What is the FMERR Program?

When homeowners find themselves in trouble financially, they often are concerned about how they will pay their mortgage every month. This can be the biggest monthly expense for many people and not being able to pay your mortgage can lead to stress and fear.

The FMERR program is a Freddie Mac Enhanced Relief Refinance mortgage process that was created to offer financial relief to homeowners who owe more on their homes than they are worth. This program is made specifically to help homeowners make their payments. If you have been able to keep making your payments despite your troubles, this is a good loan program for you to look into.

If you are ready to learn more about FMERR, read on for more information.

Who is Eligible for the FMERR Program?

This program has some requirements that had to be met for you to be eligible to take advantage of it. You needed to be sure that you met all of these requirements or you were not able to take part in the program.

• You must not have used HARP from 2009-2018
• Your existing mortgage cannot be part of HARP or any other relief program.
• Your home must have the right minimum LTV to qualify. This varies based on the type of property that you need assistance for.
• You must be a recent homebuyer with a loan that has been paid on for 15 months or more.
• You must be current on your loan payments
• You must not have a late payment in the last six months.
• You cannot have more than one late payment in the past year.
• You must have a verifiable source of income.

The program is currently expired. It was created to replace HARP and then it too was expired in September of 2019. This was a short-lived program that was made to help homeowners who had been negatively impacted by exceedingly high-interest rates starting in 2017. The program has since been replaced with other programs that have attended to the various loan types quite ably.

If you need help with your home loan, you can explore these other loan support options and find the right one for your needs. You will have to meet many of the same qualifications as were required for FMERR in order to take advantage of these other loan types.

What Does This Program Do?

This program allowed you to refinance your home even if you have little to no equity in your home. Most conventional loan programs will not allow you to refinance if you do not have a certain percentage of equity in your home.

This is specifically made to help underwater homeowners. This can be a big money saver for people who have become upside down in their homes due to circumstances related to the housing industry and the high interest rates that this loan program covers. Being able to reduce your interest rate can make a big difference in the total amount that you have to pay for your home.

When Does The Program Expire?

FMERR expired in September 2019. It replaced HARP for a short period to help homeowners who were underwater in their loans with high-interest rates. The program replaced HARP ably and it has now been replaced by other refinance programs. There are solutions that are available for homeowners even though FMERR is expired.

How do I Apply for FMERR?

The FMERR program is expired so you will not be able to apply for it at this time. If you need assistance with your home loan so that you do not lose your house, there are other programs in place. The programs vary based on whether your loan is with Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae or if it is a VA loan.

You will need to look into the loan programs that you might qualify for and you can always reach out to your lender to see if you qualify for any of the available assistance programs like IRRRL, HIRO, or RefiNow. These programs are available for qualified homeowners who are in a position that requires that they get help with their refinance and their home payments.

It is well worth exploring the options open to you if you think that you need help reducing your loan payments and making sure that you can keep your home. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae offer many programs to qualified borrowers who need help to reduce their payments or modify their loans so that they can keep their homes.