If the modification is agreed in principle, it moves on to a formal trial basis. In theory, this is a three-month trial, but the reality is that the lenders usually drag their feet and are very slow to convert the trial into a permanent modification. This ought not to affect you. After all, you are paying the agreed amount. But there is a problem. Until the modification is made permanent, the lender will report you to the credit rating agencies as still delinquent. This is grossly unfair. You are paying what is agreed. But, as the law stands, the unpaid balance each month will be reported as late. Thus, the longer the trial period is allowed to drift the worse your credit score will become. This requires action. You should contact the three major agencies, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, and ask that details of the trial be added to your credit file. That way, even though your score will continue to decline (that is a computer algorithm that stops for no-one), all other lenders will be able to see what is going on.

So what is happening during the trial other than you proving your ability to pay the reduced instalments on time? The answer is slightly disheartening. It is always in the lender’s interest to collect as much money from you as possible on your mortgage. But, while you stay in default, the lender is entitled to foreclose at any time. If the lender judges it will make more money by foreclosing rather than accepting the reduced payments over the rest of the term, it will always foreclose. It is simply collecting as much cash from you as possible before triggering your eviction. No-one said the home loans industry had to work fairly, and it does not. The only time the lender will accept a permanent modification is when the accounts clearly show more profit in keeping the mortgage alive. While the housing market remains depressed, the odds are in your favor. But if resale prices start to rise, the odds will swing against you.

One of the “systems” supposed to help us navigate through all this negative equity is the joint package of Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) and Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). These run through http://makinghomeaffordable.gov/ and they help some people either refinance their existing loans or modify the terms to make them more affordable. If you run through the questionnaires, you can find out whether you are eligible. It would be fair to say this pair of programs has been controversial. With the politics so polarized, you hear whichever song you want to hear. From one side comes the attack that the plans are another example of “big government”. If folks cannot keep their payments up-to-date, that’s their problem. They should not look to the state for handouts. Taxes should not be used to bail out freeloaders. From the other side come the attacks that the programs are drawn up in a way that cuts down the number of eligible people to a minimum. Instead of helping the millions who are underwater with their loans, this is a Band-Aid trying to staunch a major hemorrhage.

In a way, it does not matter which side is right. What matters is whether anyone has been able to get real help. Well, the Bank of America has not been slow in coming forward with numbers. Since HAMP began, it claims to have modified the loans of 700,000 people. So how does this work? The first step is to negotiate and agree a trial modification. If this trial is a success, the bank agrees to make the modification permanent. Obviously, the trials have to run over a period of time to prove the borrowers can afford to pay. That explains why the Bank of America has only made 12,200 modifications permanent. It quickly says it has a further 13,700 loans waiting for the borrowers to sign the permanent agreement. Only 26,000 permanent modifications agreed may not sound many but do not forget the headline that 700,000 were admitted to the trial process. To encourage us, the Bank also says it will negotiate on a second mortgage (2MP). Putting the politics to one side, if you have problems with your home loan and your home is at risk, you should check out whether you are eligible under HARP or HAMP. No-one cares about which side is right about these programs so long as they help you solve your mortgage problems.

The answer is negotiating a loan modification. This should be easy. You call up the loan company, explain your problems, show how much you can afford, agree to extend the term of the loan, and reduce the monthly instalments. Except you suddenly discover you no longer know who owns the mortgage. All these clever banks and finance companies sliced and diced all the loans into securitized bonds. The debts were all sold on and funding out who the owners are now can a real problem. But let’s assume you are lucky. That the original lender still owns the debt or you can find someone to talk to who works for the new owner. What exactly do you want? There are two options. The first changes the interest rates applied. Many people have been caught out by variable rates that have increased. To survive, you need to replace this balloon rate with a low fixed rate. The second option is hopefully added on to the first. You need to add years to the term of the mortgage. If you repay the same amount over twenty years instead of ten, your instalments are suddenly affordable again. Yes, you will pay slightly more interest over the additional ten years. But this will be a small price to pay to save your home.

At this point you discover that the person listening is not that sympathetic and sees no reason why the owner of the mortgage should now make less profit. Telling this person about family emergencies and health issues cuts no ice. You also discover the much-publicized Home Affordable Modification Program introduced by the Obama Administration is actually not that helpful. So what does work? The answer is either you are persistent or you get a specialist to help you. But be warned. There are a small army of crooks and con artists out there pretending to be home loan modification specialists. Never employ someone to help unless you have proof they offer real services. Always remember one truth. In the end, the lender makes more money if you stay in your home and pay something. If there is a foreclosure, everyone loses.

Well, we have had just over a year to start sorting out our problems. Hopefully, you are one of the lucky ones who have managed to stay in work and keep up the instalment payments on your home. Although you may have negative housing equity, this is not all doom and gloom. Let’s start with how you have managed to survive. You stopped all the wild spending and began paying down the most expensive debts on your store and credit cards. You are still some way away from paying off all your debts. Very few people have managed to switch over to building up their cash savings. But you are better off than you were a year ago. Now look around. Interest rates have been at rock bottom for months. The Fed cut the headline rates to the bone and, slowly, this has filtered through the banking system. There is more cheap money around today. Except we still have the credit crunch. Banks are still reluctant to lend.

There are hundreds of neighborhoods around the country where repossessed homes are standing empty with resale values dragging along the bottom. While this persists, you only have one strategy. As soon as the value of your home rises above the amount outstanding on your current mortgage, you should consider refinancing. If you can switch from the existing more expensive home loan to one at current interest rates, you will shave thousands of dollars off the total you will pay over the lifetime of the mortgage. But there is a further possibility to consider.

Whenever you find you have some positive housing equity, you can negotiate a debt consolidation loan, i.e. instead of paying individual instalments to store and credit card carriers, you roll up all your debts into a single mortgage. This gives you a single monthly instalment to pay. With the right deal in place, you will find you save thousands of dollars a year in interest payments. You will pay off your debts at a significantly lower cost and soon be able to start saving. So the watchwords are patience and forward planning. You need to keep on paying down your existing debts. Show yourself as a responsible borrower and keep your credit score as strong as possible. Monitor the local housing market and see what is happening to resale values. You need to be ready to move when values start to pick up. You also need detailed accounts and a financial proposal ready to present to a mortgage or home loan broker. Be prepared with your own long-term rescue plan.

The first option is an unsecured personal loan. Most banks offer home improvement loans without having to tap into the existing equity (assuming you own a home and there is some equity available as security). If you have a good credit score, approval is fairly routine with modest interest rates. You need to pitch the project showing a design, a reasonably detailed costing of the materials required and estimates from builders, plumbers, electricians and their like for their labor. Most loans will be agreed in instalments so you can draw down as work milestones are reached. Thus, if you’re buying a fixer-upper, you need only take a mortgage for the price for the land and structure as is. Later when the work is completed, you can decide whether to consolidate the personal loan into the mortgage.

Alternatively, if you have sufficient equity in the building as collateral, you can get a home improvement loan either as a second mortgage or as part of a refinancing deal to pay off the existing mortgage and take cash out for the improvements. As with a personal loan, you need to have comprehensive plans and estimates. Always remember that all the money you invest in the structure of the home potentially adds to its resale value. If you spend most of the loan on furnishings, these will depreciate in value through wear and tear. When you borrow, you’re putting your home at risk if you find the instalments unaffordable. If you maximized the resale value, let’s hope you will have some cash left over after a forced sale. But if the resale value of your home has fallen too much, you may be looking at bankruptcy if you cannot pay off what is owing.

Some people think of positive equity as a windfall gain or additional capital. Locked up in the bricks, it’s of little use, but there are two different kinds of mortgage to release some of this value. The first is a home equity line of credit (HELOC). This is like a revolving credit account at the bank except that it’s secured on your home for a fixed term of years (usually not more than ten years). The lender assesses the resale value of your home and sets a limit - usually 75% or 80% of that value. The amount of the existing mortgage is subtracted and you can borrow the remaining amount up to the limit. It’s better to use the credit for big ticket items rather than for day-to-day expenses, but there are no limits on how you spend the money. The second option is a home equity loan or refinancing mortgage that pays off the existing mortgage and creates a replacement including a cash-out lump sum. Thus, unlike the HELOC where you only pay interest as you use the credit facility, you pay interest on the whole sum from the time you draw it down.

Other people consider positive equity to be savings. Thus, you can either use the equity as collateral on loans for, say, the college tuition fees for your children, or you can produce a significant cash out sum with which you buy an annuity to produce income during your retirement. Thus, rather than the first view which can lead to you frittering away the value of your home, this gives you a solid basis for planning for your family’s future or your own retirement.

Then consider all those fees, costs and charges payable when you take out the loan. Lenders and their agents take their percentage for originating the loan. The more mortgages they sell, the better their income, which explains why some are dishonest and maximize their earnings without worrying too much about whether borrowers like you can make the repayments. It’s the same when you look for a refinancing mortgage so always do your sums and make sure you can afford to pay all these extras and keep up the repayments.

Never allow yourself to be ambushed. Some lenders or their agents come at the last moment with amended terms for the loan. Never agree to vary the terms to something less favorable. The reason for many of the current wave of foreclosures is that borrowers failed to protect themselves and were bullied into unfavorable loans.

Finally, look carefully at what may be tied into the loan. It is a condition to carry mortgage insurance or that you take out a life insurance policy to guarantee enough to pay off the loan should you die before the end of the term? There’s nothing wrong with this in principle, but can you choose the insurance company? It’s the same with homeowners insurance for rebuilding costs and contents. Can you shop around to get the best terms, or are you required to buy the policies on offer at a higher premium and so give more commission to the lenders?