RefiNow: Expanding refinance eligibility for qualifying homeowners
RefiNow™ is an affordable refinancing option aimed at making it easier and less expensive for qualifying homeowners to refinance. Available to borrowers at or below 100% of the area median income with debt-to-income (DTI) ratios up to 65%, RefiNow offers features that help to address some of the barriers to refinance and is a great option for creditworthy borrowers who may not have previously qualified.
Find new opportunities
Find new opportunities for more borrowers with a refinance option now available to homeowners with a DTI up to 65% and no minimum credit score requirement.
Make homeownership more sustainable
With interest rates required to be reduced by a minimum of 50 bps, and a reduction to the monthly mortgage payment required, RefiNow can help make homeownership more sustainable in your community.
Address up-front costs
The availability of a value acceptance (appraisal waiver) offer or a $500 credit* helps borrowers address up-front costs.
To qualify for the refinance option, homeowners must have:
- a Fannie Mae owned mortgage secured by a 1-unit, principal residence;
- current income at or below 100% of the area median income;
- no missed payments on their current mortgage loan in the past six months, and no more than one missed payment in the past 12 months; and
- a mortgage with a loan-to-value ratio up to 97% and a debt-to-income ratio of 65% or less (applies to the new refinance loan).
*Credit will be provided in the form of a $500 LLPA credit to the lender at the time the loan is purchased if an appraisal was obtained for the transaction. The lender must pass the credit on to the borrower.
Fannie Mae’s expects lenders to help borrowers understand the benefit of RefiNow and the total cost of the refinance over the life of the loan. You may find it useful to use FannieMae.com consumer website to support your conversations.
Area Median Income Lookup Tool
Use the interactive map to quickly look up income eligibility by area, property address or Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) code.
For Area Median Income Lookup Tool Tips click here.
You can also download Income Eligibility by county (excel).
We helped a couple with a 59% DTI refinance with RefiNow, reducing their payment by more than $100 per month. Additionally, they avoided the expense of an appraisal due to a waiver, and we made it to the closing table in 3 weeks!
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