Help Us Report on Obama’s Mortgage Mod Program

by Ben Protess
ProPublica, April 17, 2009, 3:14 p.m.

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Getty Images Last month President Obama launched the so-called homeowner bailout—a $75 billion plan that he said will help an estimated 9 million American borrowers modify or refinance their mortgages.

Rather than take his word for it, in the coming months, we’re going to be tracking just how successful the plan is. In particular, we’ll be following several borrowers who are looking for relief.

That means we need your help. If you are applying for a loan modification through the government’s plan, we want your story. Also feel free to forward this request on to family, friends and neighbors.

Typically, those applying are struggling to keep up with payments or are already in foreclosure. If you’re unsure whether you’re going to apply, here is Obama’s eligibility quiz to help. One warning: Just because you qualify, doesn’t mean your lender or loan servicer is participating. So far, six have signed up. We’ll update you as additional servicers join.

This article is part of an ongoing investigation:

Foreclosure Crisis: Banks and Government Fail Homeowners

Banks and the government have fallen short in helping homeowners in danger of foreclosure.

The Story So Far

Systemic failures at the country’s banks and mortgage servicers have exacerbated the most severe foreclosure crisis since the Great Depression, and government efforts to limit the damage have fallen short. ProPublica created an unrivaled database of homeowners who have faced foreclosure, opened a Facebook page to encourage homeowners to share their stories, wrote profiles of some of them, and incorporated their experiences into our reporting. We also provided a comprehensive rundown of the numbers behind the crisis.