Arizona underwater homeowners to get refinance help

More Arizona homeowners may soon be able to refinance to current low mortgage-interest rates, no matter how far underwater they are in their homes. The Obama administration on Monday announced long-awaited details of an expansion of a program that helps homeowners refinance to reduce their payments. Mortgage rates have fallen to record lows, and many homeowners would save hundreds of dollars a month if they could reduce the amount of interest they pay. But the housing crash has created a huge barrier. A refinanced loan typically requires the home have enough value to cover the entire amount of the new loan. But plunging home values means many owners owe far more on their loans than their homes are worth. An estimated 40 percent of metro Phoenix homeowners are currently underwater. The federal Home Affordable Refinancing Program has allowed certain loans to be refinanced if the borrower owed up to 125 percent of the home's value. But many underwater borrowers in Arizona owe more.

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