Has anyone refinanced their mortgage with Wells Fargo?

[mistysue]

Just so everyone knows, you most definitely have to be HARP-eligible to qualify for this WF no closing cost program My closing costs would still be 6 grand

We can be angry and left out together.
At least you aren't alone.

 

[sherry7]

I think the program that Wells is offering is called the HARP program. Its a gov. program to help those of us who are current with our mtg. payments and have outstanding payment history who want to refi. You don't have to have an appraisel and the fee's are minimal. Google "Harp" and you can find out more


It seems like a no brainer to refi if you will save $75k or even if you only stay there for the next 5 years think of all the interest you will be saving in those 5 years. Better off putting that money in your pocket than theirs.
Although your monthly payment drops by $60 its the over all amount you will be saving on interest. Remember the money you save on interest will now be applied to the principle.
What is it going to hurt you - DO IT.

Is this deal only for people who qualify for HARP? Our house is worth a lot more than we owe on it, so it seems like we are excluded from the "deals" on refinancing most of the time. I'm going to call WF now to see what they offer me.

Just so everyone knows, you most definitely have to be HARP-eligible to qualify for this WF no closing cost program My closing costs would still be 6 grand

Original poster here. I'm pretty sure that the Wells Fargo 3 step refinance isn't connected to HARP. From everything I've read about HARP, it is only for people who are upside-down on their mortgage. The current loan-to-value (LTV) ratio MUST be greater than 80%. We're not upside down on our mortgage. What we still owe is approximately 50% of the value of the home.

 

[JessB320]

We also were not/ are not upside down and refied with WF a few months ago, no fees at all for us.

 

[Scotch]

Thank you for posting this thread! We have WF for our mortgage and I've been thinking of refinancing to take advantage of the reduced rate. For the thing that has stopped us is that we're not prepared to have an appraiser come to the house. The interior is a mess and we need to repaint/ fix minor things up. We just can't seem to work up the energy to do that. I didn't know WF won't need to reappraise the property if you qualify. I'll go check it out.

 

[Scotch]

Just so everyone knows, you most definitely have to be HARP-eligible to qualify for this WF no closing cost program My closing costs would still be 6 grand

Bummer. We are not eligible.

 

[sherry7]

Bummer. We are not eligible.

Scotch, read my post above. This isn't connect to HARP.

It took me about a 30-40 minute phone call to go through the application and qualify. Seriously, it's the easiest $75,000 that I've ever saved.

 

[sherry7]

Oh, and I forgot to mention....

When I went to the Wells Fargo website and entered the info for a refinance, it was showing me closing costs of almost $5,000. I requested a call from an agent, and when they called, that is when I found out that we qualified for the 3 Step refinance with no closing fees. For anyone who is a Wells Fargo customer already, it's definitely worth making a phone call to check if you qualify.

 

[Scotch]

Oh, and I forgot to mention....

When I went to the Wells Fargo website and entered the info for a refinance, it was showing me closing costs of almost $5,000. I requested a call from an agent, and when they called, that is when I found out that we qualified for the 3 Step refinance with no closing fees. For anyone who is a Wells Fargo customer already, it's definitely worth making a phone call to check if you qualify.

Thank you for the additional info. I'll go complete the online form and see where the process takes me.

But I wonder whether the fact DH and I recently got 2 new credit cards may negatively affect our eligibility? We got the new cards for the bonus promotions; otherwise we have great credit and pay off our bills each month. But right now I have 2 cc cards and DH has 3 cc cards!

 

[sherry7]

Thank you for the additional info. I'll go complete the online form and see where the process takes me.

But I wonder whether the fact DH and I recently got 2 new credit cards may negatively affect our eligibility? We got the new cards for the bonus promotions; otherwise we have great credit and pay off our bills each month. But right now I have 2 cc cards and DH has 3 cc cards!

Scotch, I private messaged you with a reply.

 

[kelcoppens]

Oh, and I forgot to mention....

When I went to the Wells Fargo website and entered the info for a refinance, it was showing me closing costs of almost $5,000. I requested a call from an agent, and when they called, that is when I found out that we qualified for the 3 Step refinance with no closing fees. For anyone who is a Wells Fargo customer already, it's definitely worth making a phone call to check if you qualify.

"customer"... soooo if I have bank accounts at Wells Fargo, but not a mortgage with them, would I qualify?

 

[disneybirds]

We did this program through Wells Fargo last year. We were able to save quite a bit and the process was easy. They did tell us that you have to stay on top of returning the forms. Some people don't get them back in the allotted time and can't refinance.

 

[Music City Mama]

I did this about 2.5 years ago and plan on doing it again this summer. It's a very simple process.

 

[maxaroni]

Original poster here. I'm pretty sure that the Wells Fargo 3 step refinance isn't connected to HARP. From everything I've read about HARP, it is only for people who are upside-down on their mortgage. The current loan-to-value (LTV) ratio MUST be greater than 80%. We're not upside down on our mortgage. What we still owe is approximately 50% of the value of the home.

I am not sure that is correct. We are not upside down and yet still eligible as was my boss. We both went through our same lender

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

I did the HARP refi and was not as you put it "Up Side Down" with my mortgage.

To the other PP in order to do HARP and have no closing cost you must refi with your current lender.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Scotch, read my post above. This isn't connect to HARP.

It took me about a 30-40 minute phone call to go through the application and qualify. Seriously, it's the easiest $75,000 that I've ever saved.

Yes, it actually is, but that doesn't mean you are going through HARP. The Wells Fargo rep. said that qualifying is a 2 step process. First, you'd have to be HARP eligible in that your loan originated before some date in 2009 (can't remember the specifics since we automatically failed this test...ours was 2010). Once that criteria is met, the other criteria is based upon very good credit and an excellent credit history. It doesn't matter that we have both of those, because we are simply not HARP-eligible based upon when we bought the home/originated the loan. Hope this makes sense. This is how she explained it to me.

ETA - I also asked her if you had to be upside-down on your loan to be HARP-eligible, and she said that while that is originally what HARP was intended for, she has seen loans go through this process that were NOT underwater. That 2009 or earlier origination date seems to be the biggest sticking point for HARP eligibility from what I could make of what she was saying.

 

[sherry7]

Original poster here.

I apologize to everyone for saying this was not a HARP plan. I got the initial set of papers in the mail today, and it is HARP. I thought that HARP was only for upside-down mortgages, and ours is far from that. I can't remember the lady on the phone ever mentioning HARP, so obviously I was confused. In the papers I received, it's described as a "Three Step HARP program". From what I understand after reading the papers, if we only qualified for HARP, we'd have to pay closing costs. But, since we also qualify for the Wells Fargo Three Step program, the closing costs are waived.

But, everything in the papers is just as she described it on the phone. 3% fixed APR, 15 years, and no fees at all except for any minimal notary fees (probably $15 or $20) for getting the closing documents notarized since we're doing it all by mail.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Original poster here.

I apologize to everyone for saying this was not a HARP plan. I got the initial set of papers in the mail today, and it is HARP. I thought that HARP was only for upside-down mortgages, and ours is far from that. I can't remember the lady on the phone ever mentioning HARP, so obviously I was confused. In the papers I received, it's described as a "Three Step HARP program". From what I understand after reading the papers, if we only qualified for HARP, we'd have to pay closing costs. But, since we also qualify for the Wells Fargo Three Step program, the closing costs are waived.

But, everything in the papers is just as she described it on the phone. 3% fixed APR, 15 years, and no fees at all except for any minimal notary fees (probably $15 or $20) for getting the closing documents notarized since we're doing it all by mail.

The lady on the phone said that upside-down loans are what HARP was originally intended for, but that she's seen non upside-down loans making it through HARP. I think that for us, the one thing that was the sticking point was that we bought this house in 2010 and therefore missed that 2009 or earlier loan date for HARP. It's so crazy to me that Wells Fargo wouldn't OK the 3 step program for customers like us also My next step is going to be to refinance elsewhere, so they lose us as a customer. I don't get it.

 

[DawnM]

I know I mentioned this earlier in the thread but I will say it again. I don't understand all the animosity about not being able to do the WF loan. There are loads of other loans out there with no to minimal closing costs.

We just finalized our closing on Saturday and signed all the final documents.

We have a 2.62% loan and paid a total of $400 out of pocket for the appraisal.

If I do the math, on a 200,000 loan, the difference between a 3% loan and a 2.62% loan over a 15 year period is an interest savings of $6,660. So, I think the $400 was well spent.

So, just because you don't qualify for the WF loan doesn't mean you can't get a refi and you might just get a BETTER loan than the WF offering.

Dawn

 

[HLAuburn]

I know I mentioned this earlier in the thread but I will say it again. I don't understand all the animosity about not being able to do the WF loan. There are loads of other loans out there with no to minimal closing costs.

We just finalized our closing on Saturday and signed all the final documents.

We have a 2.62% loan and paid a total of $400 out of pocket for the appraisal.

If I do the math, on a 200,000 loan, the difference between a 3% loan and a 2.62% loan over a 15 year period is an interest savings of $6,660. So, I think the $400 was well spent.

So, just because you don't qualify for the WF loan doesn't mean you can't get a refi and you might just get a BETTER loan than the WF offering.

Dawn

How did you find the company you ended up refinancing with? We have WF now, but I suspect we aren't going to qualify for the 3-step refi (because of when the mortgage was started), but we would definitely consider someone else if it meant low closing costs. I'm just not sure where to start.

Thanks!

 

[kelcoppens]

I did the HARP refi and was not as you put it "Up Side Down" with my mortgage.

To the other PP in order to do HARP and have no closing cost you must refi with your current lender.

But I have GMAC who just went bankrupt! So I cant refi with them. Any ideas?