MORTGAGE AID

Though it's still early, preliminary results for HUD's $300 billion "Hope for Homeowners" mortgage rescue program are discouraging: It received only 42 applications in the first two weeks, and officials now expect only 20,000 troubled borrowers will apply. The government initially projected the program would help 400,000 homeowners.

This can, inpart, also be ascribed to the fact that:
1) Very few lenders are participating in the HOPE program
2) Lenders that do participate, do not allow the borrower to refinance with another institution where he could possible secure a better program or rate, but only do the refincance inhouse themselves,
3) Since the refincance is handled in house by the lender, the whole mortgage brokerage industry is not involved.

Read the full story:
http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/n3-110408.cfm