On March 4, 2009, guidelines were released under President Barack Obama's Making Home Affordable initiative, which is designed to help up to 9 million homeowners stay in their homes through refinanced mortgages or loan modifications.

To qualify, you must:

• Owe between 80-105% of your mortgage.  26% of mortgage holders, or 14.8 million homeowners, currently qualify to refinance under these specifications. One quarter (24.6%) of homeowners with mortgages (14 million) do not qualify because they are underwater and owe more than 105% of their home's value. This is especially true in hard-hit areas of California or Florida, where home values have fallen 40% or more since the peak.
• Have a loan backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Approximately 60% of single-family loans are backed by Fannie or Freddie, but a homeowner may not know this about their own loan. If you don't know, call Fannie at 1-800-7FANNIE and Freddie at 1-800-FREDDIE or submit online forms with Fannie and Freddie.
• Have a conforming loan. That means a loan under $417,000 or up to $625,500 in high-cost areas like San Francisco, Boston or Washington, DC. (Note: the conforming loan limit for certain high-cost areas of the U.S. for 2009 mortgage originations is now $729,500.)
• Take this financialstability.gov Q&A to see if you qualify. If you don't think you qualify for a refinance, you might qualify for a loan modification under the plan.