On Friday, November 21, 2008, the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Steve Preston announced that the HOPE for Homeowners approved changes to the program to help more distressed borrowers refinance into affordable, government-backed mortgages. The changes will reduce the program costs for consumers and lenders alike while also expanding eligibility by driving down the borrower’s monthly mortgage payments.Modifications to HOPE for Homeowners include:

• Increasing the loan to value ratio (LTV) to 96.5 percent for some H4H loans;
• Simplifying the process to remove subordinate liens by permitting upfront payments to lienholders; and
• Allowing lenders to extend mortgage terms from 30 to 40 years.

HOPE for Homeowners will continue to only offer affordable, government-insured fixed rate mortgages. Further, this program will maintain FHA’s long-standing requirement that new loans be based on a family’s long-term ability to repay the mortgage. Only owner-occupants are eligible for FHA-insured mortgages.

You can learn more on the HUD web site.