Foreclosures are still on the rise and if you are at risk of losing your home, here is some important information you need to know.  President Obama's Making Home Affordable loan modification plan seeks to help up to 5 million homeowners facing the possibility of losing their homes due to unaffordable home loans. The plan is funded by $75 billion dollars and offers a unique feature that pays lenders, servicers and borrowers to participate in the loan workout program.  To date, only a little over $1 billion has been used, so there is still plenty of funding to help at-risk homeowners with a loan workout.   Here is some information on the plans major features and who will qualify for this loan modification program.

Minimum eligibility criteria for Making Home Affordable loan modification:

1. Primary residences only & one-to-four unit properties only
2. Unpaid principal balances to equal $729,750 or less (higher for 2-4 unit properties)
3. Loan must have been originated before January 1, 2009
4. Current mortgage payment (including taxes, insurance and Homeowners Association if applicable) must equal more than 31% of the borrowers gross monthly income
5. Borrowers are not required to be delinquent on their payments to participate
6. Borrowers may not be in bankruptcy

Watch out for empty promises and companies asking for large fees to process your application.  The program is free, and the Treasury Department is warning homeowners against paying anyone a fee to participate in the loan workout plan. Obama's loan modification plan calls for a reduction of the mortgage payment to equal 31% of the homeowners gross monthly income, to be arrived at by:

• Interest rate reduction to as low as 2%
• Longer loan term to 40 years
• Principal forbearance
• Principal forgiveness (not mandatory and at lenders discretion)
• Second loans are now eligible for modification under this plan

The Feds are offering a "carrot" to encourage lenders to reach out to homeowners and aggressively implement this plan.  A Pay-For-Success feature allows for lenders and servicers to be paid incentives and given other inducements to offer this program to their borrowers. Homeowners who maintain the new modified loan payments will be given up to $5000 in principal reduction to their current loan to help rebuild equity.

Interested homeowners can find out if they might qualify for this loan modification program by figuring their debt ratio and determining if it is possible to reach their target payment based on 31% of their gross monthly income using the options mentioned above. Do you know how to compute your debt ratio to pre-qualify yourself before you contact your lender to apply? There is a simple 4-step formula that you can learn and then be able to prepare your application so that is closely matches the approval guidelines.

Successful candidates will be able to provide their bank with all of the necessary paperwork, and complete their loan modification forms accurately so that they meet the approval guidelines. Now is the time to begin to learn about how the process works so you can increase your chances of getting the loan workout you need to stay in your home.

You can get the help you need to apply and qualify for a loan modification by ordering the best selling handbook for homeowners, The Complete Loan Modification Guide. This is a low cost, easy to read, home edition loan mod kit that will provide you with everything you need to prepare a professional and acceptable loan modification application. You are provided with all of the necessary forms and given detailed directions on how to complete them properly. The Complete Loan Modification Guide will take you step by step through calculating your debt ratio, completing the financial statements, writing your hardship letter and then putting it all together to submit to your lender. You also get 30 days of email support to ask questions, a series of insider tips and a monthly newsletter to keep you up to date on program changes.  Learn how to qualify for the Obama Federal loan modification plan. Need help completing your loan modification forms?  Find out about our Customer Assist program-you work one-on-one with your very own expert to make sure your application is completed correctly. Get started today on the path to secure home ownership, order The Complete Loan Modification Guide. For more information about mortgage loan modification, please visit us at: http://www.myloanmodificationcenter.com