Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-Backed Loans

• 1). Speak with a HUD-approved housing counselor (see Resources) about your options.
  
  
• 2). Ask your lender for a Making Home Affordable refinance application.
  
  
• 3). Gather pay stubs, investment statements and other evidence of your monthly gross income and that of all other borrowers named on the mortgage, as well as your most recent tax return.
  
  
• 4). Obtain documentation about subordinate liens---a second mortgage, for example---that shows your payment amounts and principal balances.
  
  
• 5). List the balances and payment amounts for all your credit card and loan accounts, including car and student loans.
  
  
• 6). Complete the Making Home Affordable refinance application and submit it with photocopies of the documents listed above.
  
  

Loans Not Backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac

• 1). Contact a HUD-approved housing counselor (see Resources) to discuss your options.
  
  
• 2). Verify with your lender that you're eligible for the Make Home Affordable modification program.
  
  
• 3). Request that your lender send you a Making Home Affordable request for modification and affidavit form and IRS Form 4506T-EZ, which is a tax-return transcript request. You'll need these for your modification application.
  
  
• 4). Prepare a letter explaining the reason for your hardship and how it's likely to cause you to default on your mortgage in the near future or how it already has caused you to fall behind on your payments.
  
  
• 5). Submit all the documentation to your lender for its consideration of your modification request.