There are 2 parts to it; the first is to work with lenders to modify loan terms for millions of homeowners; and the second is to help homeowners refinance to fixed-rate loans that are affordable.

The program, according to a Treasury Department official (as quoted in this article on Yahoo News) is  “not intended to prevent every foreclosure or to help every homeowner.  It’s really targeted at responsible homeowners.”

People who are eligible, and it’s only people whose loans are backed by Fannie May and Freddie Mac have the chance to qualify.  Also, people applying for the program will have to provide their latest tax return, 2 pay stubs and an affidavit of financial hardship.

The program is set to run through 2012 and people can only have their loan modified once; it’s only for loans taken out January 1, 2009 or earlier; and is only for single family properties worth $729, 750 or less.

People could get a rate as low as 2 percent for five years; then it would go to about 5 percent until the mortgage is paid off.

What’s the cost for this?  According to an article on the Washington Post website it’s about $75 billion.

The good news is that millions of people should be able to get help with their overwhelming mortgage payments.  The bad news is that only half the people who need the help will get it.  The really bad news is that anyone who has been able to make their mortgage payments and is current won’t get any help at all, but they’ll be expected to help pay for the cost of the program – all Americans will.

And the worst news is that there is no guarantee it’s going to work.

I’m not saying I’m the smartest person in the world and I won’t pretend to understand everything about how the economy works.

But, wouldn’t the economy have been stimulated if every American taxpayer had been given $20,000 directly to spend?  That would have put a lot of money into the economy and there wouldn’t have been implementation and monitoring headaches that programs like this mortgage relief one are sure to have.