Refinancing Your IndyMac Mortgage

Learn about refinancing and loan modification options on IndyMac Mortgages

If you have a mortgage loan with IndyMac or OneWest Bank, you can cut your monthly payments with a refinance or a loan modification.

IndyMac Bank was one of the largest mortgage lenders but in 2008 was shut down by the FDIC. OneWest Bank purchased the assets of IndyMac Bank and now mortgage borrowers from IndyMac Bank are serviced by OneWest Bank.

OneWest Bank is still in the process of merging IndyMac operations into OneWest Bank's operations. The IndyMac name is still around, with borrowers now seeing "IndyMac Mortgage Services, a division of OneWest Bank, FSB."

Because IndyMac Bank was shut down and taken over by OneWest Bank, borrowers who have loans from IndyMac Bank are not officially in the government Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) or Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). However, the director of the FDIC has instructed FDIC members - even those banks that did not take TARP money - to follow with HARP and HAMP guidelines.

If homeowners do not qualify for a refinance loan, then a loan modification is their only option to help reduce their monthly payments. For loan modifications, borrowers can try working directly with IndyMac to modify their loan or they can hire a loan modification professional to negotiate one for them. As stated, IndyMac does not have the standard HAMP modification loan program - it has its own modification program for home owners based on the FDIC's similar guidelines.

Home owners can contact the new IndyMac division of OneWest Bank directly to assist with a refinance or they can contact a mortgage lender such as Total Mortgage to see if better options are available. Not only are standard loan programs available, but the 125% refinance program for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac borrowers is now available for IndyMac borrowers as well. For the 125% refinance program, borrowers can only refinance with their IndyMac Bank loan with OneWest Bank if they currently have mortgage insurance. If not, borrowers are free to select any lender such as Total Mortgage currently offering the program.

IndyMac Bank made extremely risky mortgage loans including 100% financing, no income verification and sub-prime adjustable rate loans. Most of these loans will be difficult if not impossible to refinance unless you had a lot of equity when you obtained your original loan. There are no remaining no income verification loans. In addition, any borrowers who had low credit scores will be unable to refinance even if they can verify their income. Finally, borrowers who put no money down and saw their home values decline have no equity and will be unable to refinance. Unfortunately, most IndyMac loans were not Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loans so they will not be eligible for their 125% refinance programs.

So what should home owners do if they are not sure which option is best for them? The first step would be to speak with a loan officer at Total Mortgage who is experienced in refinancing IndyMac mortgages. Your loan officer can help you determine if you should refinance or look at a mortgage loan modification and who it is best to refinance with if a refinance makes sense.

For a free mortgage pre-approval and exact rate quote to refinance your IndyMac mortgage, please email us or call us at 1-877-868-2503.

To see the current mortgage rates, visit our Current Mortgage Rates page.

If you have any questions that you would like to get answered by our expert mortgage brokers, please email us or call us at 1-877-868-2503.

Our visitors also found the following articles relevent to this topic:

• Mortgage Refinancing FAQs
• Refinance Mortgage Loan
• Four Common Types of Refinance Mortgages