Homeowners

Amid a continuing mortgage meltdown across the nation, Congress has begun efforts to revive a controversial housing program to provide down payments for low- and moderate-income families. The program was killed late last year by the Bush administration and Congress due to concerns that its default rate was too high -- two to three times higher than standard mortgages, according to one government estimate.

With pressure growing for government action to stem foreclosures, the White House moved up to next week the unveiling of President Obama's housing rescue plan, while major banks said they would freeze seizures of homes for at least three weeks pending the rollout of the initiative. For months, Congress has been pressing the executive branch -- first the Bush administration, now its successor -- to come up with a program to curtail the growing wave of borrowers forced to give up their homes.

Banks can offer loan modifications or other programs if you're behind -- or will soon be -- on a mortgage. Often the changes involve easing up on the interest rate, at least temporarily, or changing the payment schedule to give you more breathing room. But banks generally will offer these programs only if you have good prospects for paying off the loan eventually. The bank to which you write your mortgage check isn't always calling the shots in these matters.

President Obama will roll out his much-anticipated housing plan today in an effort to stem the tide of foreclosures that has triggered the worst recession in decades. The president will outline the plan during a speech in Phoenix, where home values have dropped 33% in the last year -- the steepest decline of any metropolitan area in the country. Across the nation, thousands of people continue to be forced from their homes every day.

Here are questions and answers about the foreclosure-prevention plan unveiled Wednesday by President Obama. Who will benefit from this plan? The plan is designed to help two kinds of homeowners. The first are people who took out prudent mortgages with a substantial down payment and have been making their payments, but who have little or no home equity because of falling housing prices.

Ledeen Halloran and Harry Snegg live a few houses apart on Claiborne Drive in Long Beach. They both have good jobs, they both voted for John McCain -- and they both have seen their home values fall more than 40%. But when it comes to their views on mortgage relief, these two neighbors are on different sides of the street. Halloran, 50, is a fan of President Obama's new plan to stave off foreclosures and thinks it could provide the cushion she needs to stay in her home.

Congress is poised to give bankruptcy judges more power to modify primary home mortgages in an attempt to halt the foreclosure crisis, a move Democrats and housing advocates have been pushing for two years in the face of stiff opposition from Republicans and the mortgage industry. The House is expected to pass the legislation today, and supporters are optimistic that the Senate will follow next month.

Michael B. Bennett used to own his home in Chesapeake, Va. Now he rents it, which is taking some getting used to. There are advantages. "If something goes bad -- the hot water heater or the air conditioner -- the people that own the house pay for it," said Bennett, who lost the home to foreclosure. On the other hand, "I don't like saying I'm renting." Bennett and his wife, Candace, are among millions of Americans who have become renters again after foreclosure.

Citigroup Inc. on Tuesday promised to cut monthly mortgage payments temporarily to $500 for some homeowners who have been fired or laid off -- a test program bank officials say could become a model for other banks if it proves successful. The borrowers otherwise would face foreclosure because their lack of income makes it impossible to restructure their loans with more affordable payments.

The Obama administration's plan to stave off foreclosures could fall flat in California, where nearly one-third of mortgage holders are underwater on their loans -- many of them by amounts that would disqualify them for government-sponsored refinancing. The problem is likely to be especially acute in areas like the Inland Empire, where homes have lost more than 40% of their value in the last year and nearly half the homeowners owe more on their loans than the properties are worth.