How about getting a new lower mortgage rate in the new year?
There's a letter going around saying you qualify for a government program.
The letter looks official, but it is not.
Yet the program it mentions is legit and called HARP, or Home Affordable Refinance Program.
If you qualify, HARP allows owners with little equity in their house to get lower interest rates and save up to $2,400 a year.
But qualifying is tough.
It has to be a Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae loan, originated before May 31, 2009, with a loan to value ratio greater than 80%.
There can be no 30-day late payments in the last 6 months, and only one in the last year.
That rules out just about everyone.
A map on the HARP website shows just 657 loans in Arizona qualify and only 228 in the Valley.
It's great if you have one of them.
But you don't need to pay anybody to find out or to apply.
