Numerous efforts have been made in the past few months to stymie the fallout from the subprime lending crisis. However, such items as the mortgage rate freeze have been offered only to subprime borrowers. Other measures, such as mortgage debt forgiveness, are more widespread, but still limited in scope.
Add another program to the list. Project Lifeline is designed to help those facing foreclosure. It's a voluntary program worked out between the Bush Administration and some of the nation's mortgage lenders. The New York Times reports on what Project Lifeline entails:
Under Project Lifeline, banks are promising to delay foreclosure proceedings for 30 days for delinquent borrowers with both subprime and higher-quality loans. During the pause, the banks would presumably try to modify the loans to make them affordable over the long run.
This could be helpful for you if you can't make mortgage payments after a recent. Modified terms could mean that, not only can you make your payments, but with lower interest rates and more you could save money over the life of the loan.
Of course, this begs the question: What about those who chose responsible and affordable loans? Once again, the system is rewarding poor decision-making.
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