June 18th, 2010 10:58 PM by Eric Fang
Q: I purchased a house in 3/15/2010. My Wells Fargo high-balance loan was 5/1 rate 4.375% with no pre-payment penalty. At the time my loan agent which is the same as my house agent said that I can refinance any time after the closing. Now I try to change my loan to a 30-year fixed rate loan and take advantage of the recent low rates. But why I keep hearing that I'll need a 6 month payment history to refinance? I also heard that Fannie Mei has a rule that lenders can only sell the loan to Fannie Mei if it borrowed money for refinance with a 6 month payment history. Is that true? Where is this 6 month payment history coming from? It is no where in my loan documents.
A: That's a very good question. Right now, more than 60% of the loanswill be sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. If the lender plans to sell the loan to Fannie Mae, they have to follow the Fannie Mae guideline.
Ok, back to your quesion. For Fannie Mae guideline for loans with loan amount over 417k, they require 6 months ownership. Different lenders interpret differently. Some lenders will require 6 month payment; others will require 180 days of ownership. And you can not apply loans before that date set by the lender.
But if this lender will not sell the loan to Fannie Mae, they don't have this 6 month ownership requirement.