Mortgage Relief: Too Little, Too Late For Many?

CHICAGO - July 31, 2008 - Help is on the way for some debt-plagued homeowners. It just may not be fast enough or broad enough to keep many from losing their residences.

The mortgage relief plan that President Bush is poised to sign as soon as Wednesday is designed to rescue about 400,000 homeowners by allowing them to get more affordable mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration.

But consumer advocates and some economists think the housing act doesn’t go nearly far enough to save those whose homeownership is in peril.

While the foreclosure avoidance program is scheduled to start on Oct. 1, help may not arrive for months after that — and individual homeowners have no assurances they will be among those rescued.

Mortgage Relief: Too Little, Too Late For Many?
by DAVE CARPENTER | Associated Press