Frustration is going back and forth from homeowners to lenders.  Unfortunately, Washington, is not helping much either. The Obama administration set up a $75 billion Making Home Affordable program to pay mortgage lenders to modify home loans, but a Treasury Department spokeswoman couldn’t even say whether lenders and banks have to reveal how many mortgage loans have been changed.  So why bother trying to get an unaffordable loan modified?  John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education for Credit.com, points out that a loan modification, if you can get it, won’t damage your credit the way a foreclosure or a short sale would.  And he notes: This process, although difficult, is free.

You don’t have to use those law firms and companies that are advertising heavily, saying they can pull off a modification for a fee, usually of a few thousand dollars.  To learn more about the Obama’s loan workout program and mortgage relief in general, go to www.makinghomeaffordable.gov.  Homeowners Hope Hotline, 888-995-HOPE.  Article was written by Harriet Johnson Brackey for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Understanding mortgage loans can be confusing enough, and now comes a new maze of incentives, eligibility requirements and loan workout options under the recently announced two-pronged federal program to rescue troubled homeowners.  The new federal Making Home Affordable program is aimed at helping homeowners who are current but have little or no equity in their homes by refinancing their loans, and at delinquent or at-risk borrowers by restructuring their home loans.

What happens in a mortgage refinancing or loan modification is contingent on three factors:  The modification rules set for lenders and loan servicers who join the federal program; the homeowner’s circumstances, such as family hardships; And the mortgage lender, investor or loan servicer, who has some leeway and incentives in deciding on changes to the loan.   Article written BY ELLEN YAN