Personal Finance Daily: Mortgage refi program not open to late payers

Personal Finance Daily NOVEMBER 11, 2011 Mortgage refi program not open to late payers By MarketWatch Don't miss these top stories: Government refi program won't accept late payer Falling prices are biggest risk, homeowners say The competition for jobs Rebuild your relationship with stock funds The federal government recently said it was expanding the Home Affordable Refinance Program so that more borrowers who are underwater would be eligible to refinance their mortgage. But one group still can't take part: People who are late on their mortgage payments. But, as Lew Sichelman writes in his Realty Q&A column today, the program runs through 2013, so late payers have some time to get current before they apply. Read Lew's story today for more on the new HARP program. Of course, the problem for some people who want to refinance is that "getting current" on their bills may be much easier said than done. — Andrea Coombes , Personal Finance editor Government refi program won't accept late payers The new, expanded Home Affordable Refinance Program, or HARP, will make loan refinancing available to more borrowers — but if you're late on your payments, you're not allowed to participate. Still, Lew Sichelman says in Realty Q&A this week, since the program is in effect through the end of 2013, struggling borrowers have time to get back on track with their payments and then apply. Read more: Government refi program won't accept late payer. Falling prices are biggest risk, homeowners say More than half of Americans say that a drop in value is the biggest risk to their homes — more so than fires, tornados and hurricanes, according to a survey released by Home Value Insurance Company. Read more: Falling prices are biggest risk, homeowners say. Round 2 voting in columnist contest closes soon Time is running short to vote in the second round of our contest to find the World's Next Great Investing columnist as a Sunday deadline looms. Read more: Round 2 voting in columnist contest closes soon. Rebuild your relationship with stock funds Heading into 2012, individual investors need to rebuild their frayed and flawed relationship with stocks and stock funds. Read more: Rebuild your relationship with stock funds. The best countries to invest in are the worst Impact investors can fashion an asset-allocation approach to their investments, with emerging-market countries offset by investments in richer countries. Read more: The best countries to invest in are the worst. ECONOMY & POLITICS In charts: The competition for jobs Economic data this week show that there's healing going on in a still-weak jobs market, and also the troubled state of the euro zone. See charts: The competition for jobs. Consumer sentiment highest since June: survey Led by improved expectations, consumer sentiment is at its highest level since June, though it remains relatively low, according to data released Friday. Read more: Consumer sentiment highest since June. The Republicans target American workers Republicans in Congress are targeting workers' pay and rights, thinking that will fix our economy. Read more: The Republicans target American workers. INTERNATIONAL NEWS Italy's Senate backs budget bill, lifts markets Italy's Senate on Friday clears a budget bill containing new austerity measures and bringing Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's reign one step nearer to the end as financial markets rally. Read more: Italy's Senate backs budget bill, lifts markets. Get the latest news on our mobile site: http://www.marketwatch.com/m MarketWatch has sent you this newsletter because you signed up to receive it. To ensure you receive this newsletter in the future, please add marketwatchmail.com to your list of approved senders. Sent to: kumaresan.selva.blogger@gmail.com Unsubscribe | Subscribe Copyright 2011 MarketWatch, Inc. All rights reserved. MarketWatch, the MarketWatch logo, and BigCharts are registered trademarks of MarketWatch, Inc. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy (updated 6/26/07). MarketWatch - Attn: Customer Service, 201 California St., San Francisco, CA 94111