I must start with that I am not a lender nor a mortgage expert, however, I do know a good deal when I see it.  The HARP (Home Affordable Refinance Program) is litterally making house payments cheaper in some cases by more than $200 per month.  The program can be applied to your primary residence or investment property. 

I was able to refinance a property through my existing lender and it did not cost a dime and reduced the payment by $228 per month.  In some cases if the existing lender can't perform the refinance then you can go to the mortgage lender of your choice.  In this case, it will likely cost you some money to close the deal, however those costs can be rolled into your new mortgage.  Under this context you might be able to simply shave years off your loan and be able to reduce your payment at the same time.

There really are no catches as far as I can see.  The government sponsored enterprise, Fannie & Freddie, simply want less foreclosures in their pipeline.

The eligibilty is simple:

• The mortgage must be owned or guaranteed by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae.  Nearly 50 percent of all loans in this country are backed by these two enterprises.

• The mortgage must have been sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac on or before May 31, 2009.

• The mortgage cannot have been refinanced under HARP previously unless it is a Fannie Mae loan that was refinanced under HARP from March-May, 2009.

• The current loan-to-value (LTV) ratio must be GREATER than 80%.  So if you owe 125 percent of what the home is worth, this is perfect.

• The borrower must be current on the mortgage at the time of the refinance, with a good payment history in the past 12 months.

Do you or someone you know qualify for a HARP Refinance?  You can check your loan by clicking on the links below.

http://www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup/

https://ww3.freddiemac.com/corporate/