Q&A: Mortgage Relief

Q&A: Mortgage Relief

	Provisions of the bill

	What exactly will the legislation do?

	Who is eligible?

	When does the program start?

	Since lenders can pick and choose which loans to refinance, how can consumers determine if theirs will be selected?

	Is there anything a homeowner can do to improve chances of benefiting from the program, such as crunching numbers to make a case for the bank?

	But doesn't this provide an incentive to NOT pay your mortgage, if you're barely keeping ahead of bills and are underwater on your house, so you can qualify?

	So what should I be doing now besides trying to keep up with payments?

	If the banks and lenders refuse to write these loans, then what?

	What happens if I'm able to sell my home after I refinance?

So what should I be doing now besides trying to keep up with payments?

Talk to a local credit counselor and call the toll-free hot line of the Hope Now alliance - an industry group trying to coordinate a response to the mortgage crisis - at 1-888-995-HOPE. It is available 24 hours a day to provide mortgage counseling in multiple languages.

Mary Thomason, director of resource development for The Impact Group of Atlanta, a housing counseling group, also suggests tracking expenses and income closely in order to be able to forecast your cash flow for the next six months and give yourself better control of your finances.