More Help for 'Underwater' Home Owners

New federal incentives to help struggling homeowners is likely to result in more mortgage modifications and further stabilize the local housing market. Home loan modifications begun after Sept. 1 are eligible for Home Price Decline Protection Incentives.

Last February, the Obama Administration launched the first in a series of programs to stabilize the housing market - Making Home Affordable, Hope for Homeowners, Foreclosure Alternatives and now the Home Price Decline Protection Incentives. To encourage loan servicers to make more modifications, lenders are offered cash payments for every eligible loan, addressing investor fears that home prices could continue to fall.

Contact your lender for information on available home loan modification or refinancing programs. You can also get free counseling from the Inland Fair Housing and Mediation board (www.ifhmb.com), which serves 14 cities in San Bernardino County.

If you decide to sell your home before it is foreclosed, call me. I can market your home to get the best possible offers, and negotiate with your lender on your behalf. I have prepared a Foreclosure Options booklet. Ask for a paper copy or download a copy at our website, www.ilajosephs.com.