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I’ve been reading through the details of the new Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan, which is letting lenders modify mortgages as of March 4th. Most of the information is collected here, where you can find a fact sheet, a two-page summary of modification guidelines, and the 17-page full list of guidelines.

Eligible borrowers can either refinance into a new, more affordable mortgage, or obtain a modification of their existing loan. Your existing mortgage must have been originated on or before January 1, 2009. I’ve tried to briefly summarize the rules below.

How do I qualify for a refinance?
The Home Affordable Refinance program will be available to 4 to 5 million homeowners who have a solid payment history on an existing mortgage owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Normally, these borrowers would be unable to refinance because their homes have lost value, pushing their current loan-to-value ratios above 80%. Under the Home Affordable Refinance program, many of them will now be eligible to refinance their loan to take advantage of today’s lower mortgage rates or to refinance an adjustable-rate mortgage into a more stable mortgage, such as a 30-year fixed rate loan.

How do I qualify for a loan modification?
Borrowers who are struggling to stay current on their mortgage payments may be eligible (even if they are not currently behind on payments!) if their income is not sufficient to continue to make their mortgage payments and they are at risk of imminent default. This may be due to several factors, such as a loss of income, a significant increase in expenses, or an interest rate that will reset to an unaffordable level.

In general, you may qualify for a mortgage modification if (a) you occupy your house as your primary residence; (b) your monthly mortgage payment is greater than 31% of your monthly gross income; and (c) your loan is not large enough to exceed current Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits.

How will my existing loan change?
The modification sequence requires first reducing the interest rate (subject to a rate floor of 2%), then if necessary extending the term or amortization of the loan up to a maximum of 40 years, and then if necessary forbearing principal. Principal forgiveness or a Hope for Homeowners refinancing are acceptable alternatives.

I think I’m eligible! How do I start the process?
Gather up your income documentation (paystub, your most recent income tax return, all mortgage documents, and all information on all debts like car, student, or credit card loans. Then contact your lender or HUD-approved counselor and ask to be considered under the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan.

It would seem that a lot more people might be interested in the refinancing aspect of this plan. I don’t qualify for a loan mod, but am certainly above 80% loan-to-value. However, I doubt my rate can get much better. The main obstacle is to find out if you indeed have a Fannie or Freddie loan. I wonder if the closings costs will be subsidized – they mention that appraisals would be waived in some cases.

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I love days like today where we can hit little milestones. I actually updated my debt tally on the right earlier today but I didn’t get a chance to write a post until now. Danielle was eagle-eyed and spotted it:
omg, are you really only $199 away from savings=debt now? Aaaahhhh!
Yeah, it sort of [...]

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“A billion people around the world work hard every day to lift themselves out of poverty. They don’t want your charity. They want your investment. Invest today, earn a return, provide them with a livelihood.” – Microplace.com homepage.

Sounds pretty good, huh? Microplace is owned by Ebay, and is an SEC-registered broker of microfinance securities to individual investors. Loans are classified by level of poverty, financial return, length of investment, and geographical location. Recently, they got my attention by offering a 2-year loan with a promised interest rate of 5% per year, and a 4-year loan at 6%.

What is microfinance?
Microfinance is the supply of loans, savings, insurance and other basic financial services to low-income households and businesses, usually in areas where people don’t have access to formal banks. Microcredit is the extension of very small loans (microloans) to these poor entrepreneurs. A big name in this arena is the Grameen Foundation.

Tell me more about this 5% return…
Here is the loan listing page, and here is a link to the long 63-page prospectus for these Global Poverty Alleviation Notes (how’s that for an investment title?). I have looked through it, but haven’t digested it all. They are offered by Micro Credit Enterprises (MCE), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. MCE seems to focus on women entrepreneurs, which have made up about 90% of their borrowers. They seem to participate in a variety of countries on 4 continents, from Armenia to Bolivia to Cambodia.

These notes are not a mutual fund, and is not FDIC or SIPC insured. These are unsecured debt obligations, with partial backing of “philanthropic guarantors”. Basically, wealthy individuals and/or groups promise to repay parts of this loan if there are enough defaults. The details are a bit vague, but there seems to be a networked agreement across multiple guarantors. However, risks definitely remain.

The actual interest charged to local microfinance institutions (MFIs) are stated to be from 8-10%. The rates paid by actual individuals are not stated, but can be as high as 30%. But these are often short-term loans to people with no collateral and few alternatives. The historical repayment rate is listed to be 96%.

What about MicroPlace vs. Kiva.org?
Kiva.org also lends small amounts to low-income entrepreneurs in the developing world. However, Kiva currently does not offer interest to lenders since it is a non-profit organization and is not registered with the SEC. Also, it has more of a person-to-person lending structure where you can choose the specific person you wish to lend to. However, I have read that Kiva is trying to offer interest in the near future.

Are you going to invest?
I’ve put some money to “work” at Kiva already, and my personal repayment rate on my completed loans from Kiva has been 98% so far. Given that I am still not very familiar with these investments, I still can’t treat the 5% Microplace note as a reliable investment. However, I am still leaning towards putting a chunk of money into it, because I do think significant principal loss is unlikely, and I want to give them a chance. If it works out, I think microfinance would really take off if there was also a financial benefit to investors.

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I received a reader tip last week about a new promotion that the American Express Business Gold card is having, it’s almost too good to be true.
They are offering a 25,000 welcome points along with waiving the $180 annual fee for the first year.  What’s the big deal?  The 25k points are transferable 1:1 to [...]

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