Making Home Affordable

The Obama Administration has introduced a comprehensive Financial Stability Plan to address the key problems at the heart of the current crisis and get our economy back on track. A critical piece of that effort is Making Home Affordable, a plan to stabilize our housing market and help up to 7 to 9 million Americans reduce their monthly mortgage payments to more affordable levels.

The Home Affordable Refinance Program gives up to 4 to 5 million homeowners with loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac an opportunity to refinance into more affordable monthly payments. The Home Affordable Modification Program commits $75 billion to keep up to 3 to 4 million Americans in their homes by preventing avoidable foreclosures.

The consumer website, www.MakingHomeAffordable.gov, provides homeowners with detailed information about these programs along with self-assessment tools and calculators to empower borrowers with the resources they need to determine whether they might be eligible for a modification or a refinance under the Administration's program. Through this website, borrowers can also connect with free counseling resources to help with outstanding questions; locate homeowner events in their communities; find a handy checklist of key documents and materials to have ready when making that important call to their servicer as well as FAQs from borrowers in similar circumstances; and much more.

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has an informative guide for dealing with the threat of foreclosure and what you can do about it.

California Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Law

The Franchise Tax Board (FTB) has posted information on the California Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Law which could allow taxpayers, who qualify, up to $250,000 on debt forgiveness for 2007 and 2008. The Federal law covers debt forgiven from 2007 through 2012. View the FTB’s website for more information on debt forgiveness.