Obama helps a few more out-of-work homeowners

On Aug. 1, the FHA will extend the period for unemployed homeowners to miss mortgage payments to a full year from three or four months. That will allow qualified homeowners to go without making a monthly payment for 12 months before the foreclosure process begins.

The extended grace period only applies to FHA-backed loans, which are usually given to low- and middle-income borrowers and represent about 14 percent of all active mortgages and roughly 25 percent of new mortgages.

Last year, roughly 17,000 homeowners received a government-supported delay on their mortgage payments. About 3,500 borrowers with FHA-insured loans fall behind on their mortgages each month due to unemployment. Another 10,000 unemployed homeowners have taken advantage of a three-month delay in mortgage payments in the past year.

Administration officials hoped private lenders and government-controlled mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would adopt a similar policy.

Fannie and Freddie signaled they would not.