• The amount of help available to homeowners faced with foreclosure has risen greatly in the last couple of years, as the problem has grown more widespread. The federal government has implemented a number of programs through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which can help at various stages of the process.
  
  

Counseling

• If you believe you are at risk of default, or if you are in the early stages of foreclosure, there is counseling available through HUD approved nonprofit agencies around the country. This can be a good gateway into all the different HUD programs, as counselors will be able to give you information about solutions that could work in your situation.
  
  

National Service Center

• If you are trying to contact your lender, or if they have been uncooperative, and you have an FHA-insured loan, you can turn to HUD's National Service Center. Counselors there can provide assistance in getting in touch with your lender, or in getting answers to questions you may have about your loan. The service center number is 888-297-8685.
  
  

Hope Now Alliance

• This is a group of HUD-backed intermediaries that can provide homeowners with debt management, credit counseling and foreclosure counseling. Alliance counselors can also refer you to other HUD-approved foreclosure prevention programs.
  
  

Making Home Affordable

• This is a program aimed at providing loan modification or refinancing services to homeowners who are finding their current mortgages unaffordable. It's especially useful for those who are "under water" on their property---the loan amount is more than your house is worth, so that a new conventional mortgage is not available to you. You do have to be current on your mortgage to qualify, though, so it is not applicable to those who have already entered foreclosure.
  
  

Hope for Homeowners

• If you are having difficulties with your present loan, but could afford a refinanced mortgage, Hope for Homeowners can help homeowners refinance into new FHA approved loans. Again, lenders will be required to write down the mortgage to 90 percent or less of the home's current value, erasing difficulties with negative equity.