The Home Affordable Refinance Program, or HARP, is a U.S. government program designed to enable mortgage loan refinancing for homeowners who are current on their mortgage payments but may have had difficulty refinancing because their properties are upside-down or underwater, meaning the market value of their properties are less than the balance of their loans. In other words, they owe more than the properties are worth.
HARP helps these homeowners with negative equity to refinance into more affordable and stable mortgages. With current interest rates at relative lows, homeowners can potentially lock in a lower interest rate than the one they pay under their current loans or move from an adjustable rate mortgage to a fixed rate mortgage, or both. A HARP refinance can also help homeowners avoid paying private mortgage insurance if they do not already pay the insurance under their current loans.