Lenders One member Dubuque Bank and Trust sells first home affordable refinance loan to Fannie Mae MortgagePress.comLenders One Mortgage Cooperative, Refi Plus, Dubuque Bank and Trust, Heartland Financial USA Inc.,
Lenders One Mortgage Cooperative, a national alliance of
mortgage bankers, announced that one of its members became the
first institution in the country to sell a Refi Plus loan to Fannie
Mae. Iowa-based Dubuque Bank and Trust (DB and T), a subsidiary of
Heartland Financial USA Inc., is using the program to help
borrowers remain in their homes by reducing their monthly payments
and/or refinancing into a fixed-rate loan product.
"As part of recent initiatives to help alleviate foreclosures,
the Refi Plus program allows lenders to expand their refinance
opportunities and preserve homeownership at a greater rate. This is
both an outstanding achievement and a great civic-minded act," said
Scott Stern, Lenders One CEO.
Management at DB and T appreciates the benefits of the Refi Plus
program, which allow financial institutions to better retain
mortgage customers through an effective, quick refinance
option.
"The Refi Plus program allows more efficient, cost-effective
refinancing for borrowers," Tom Goric, vice president at Dubuque
Bank and Trust, explained. "Loans are delivered faster and at lower
cost, as the new guidelines broaden the scope of who can be helped
in today's harsh economic climate."
Anticipating the availability of Refi Plus, DB and T waited for
the program's launch to deliver a specific loan, knowing that it
would qualify.
Refi Plus is new under President Obama's Homeowner Affordability
and Stability Plan, which is designed to streamline the refinance
process of existing Fannie Mae-funded mortgage loans.
The goal is to extend the option of refinancing to more
struggling homeowners. To achieve this, Fannie Mae has loosened
refinance requirements, such as lowering the acceptable credit
score, reducing documentation of income and in some cases waiving
the requirement of an appraisal.
For more information, visit www.lendersone.com or www.dubuquebank.com/.
