In my blog at the beginning of March I outlined my understanding of that portion of ARRA (the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009), designed to curtail foreclosures and assist homeowners in taking advantage of the historically low mortgage rates currently available. My original blog entry can be found here.

A couple of asides:

There's a site that has been published containing interactives, information releases et al regarding ARRA, which can be found at www.recovery.gov.

The foreclosure mitigation plan, now somewhat officially coined the "Making Home Affordable" program, can be found at www.makinghomeaffordable.gov.

Ok: Here's an UPDATE on the loan modification and refinance plans:

We're still waiting..........

While more details have been released since my original posting (once again, found here), many of you have expressed a great deal of frustration from your efforts to receive answers in the channels that have been outlined. Loan servicers (the company that receives the monthly payment) understands the program one way, the official web site (www.makinghomeaffordable.gov) understands it another way, and the HUD Counselor Hotline that has been established (1-888-995-HOPE) seems to understand it yet another way.

From what I understand, it feels not unlike the Abbott and Costello routine, 'Who's on First.'

I don't mean to make light of the frustrations of many. I sympathize with you and hope that things will resolve quickly.

My advice: hang in there. Keep calling the loan servicer, the HOPE hotline, your government representatives, keep rocking the boat, keep those wheels squeaking. The industry was not set up to make sweeping changes this quickly and we can have an impact on how quickly they move by continuing to make our voices heard... even if it seems it is falling on deaf ears.

As always thanks for reading! --James Wirth