Making Homes Affordable will offer help to more than 7 to 9 million homeowners, with a large portion of those homeowners available for relief in the Massachusetts New England area.

Making Homes Affordable will help families with loan modifications, and reduce the stringent practices the banks are using to prevent homeowners from receiving loan modifications.

The Home Affordable Refinance program will be offered to 4 to 5 million homeowners who have paid their mortgages on time and have their home with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

Normally, these borrowers would be unable to refinance because their homes have lost value, pushing their current loan-to-value ratios above 80%.

Under the Home Affordable Refinance program, many of these homeowners will now be able to refinance their mortgage and take advantage of today’s lower mortgage rates or to refinance an adjustable-rate mortgage into a more stable mortgage, such as a 30-year fixed rate loan.

Who’s Eligible For The Program?

# Loans originated on or before January 1, 2009.
# First-lien loans on owner-occupied properties with unpaid principal balance up to $729,750. Higher limits allowed for owner-occupied properties with 2-4 units.
# All borrowers must fully document income, including signed IRS 4506-T, two most recent pay stubs, and most recent tax return, and must sign an affidavit of financial hardship.
# Property owner occupancy status will be verified through borrower credit report and other documentation; no investor-owned, vacant, or condemned properties.
# Incentives to lenders and servicers to modify at risk borrowers who have not yet missed payments when the servicer determines that the borrower is at imminent risk of default.
# Modifications can start from now until December 31, 2012; loans can be modified only once under the program.

Read the full WSJ article.