If at first you don’t succeed try and try again.

Still looking for ways to cauterize the nationwide foreclosure crisis, the Barack Obama-led administration today announced another plan aimed at keeping roofs over the heads of unemployed homeowners. The latest effort is available to out-of-work homeowners who have FHA-insured loans, which is about 3,500 borrowers a month, according to the Los Angeles Times.

To put that into more perspective, the report indicates that “only 10% of some 50 million mortgage loans outstanding nationwide are backed by the FHA.”

The good news is that mortgage servicers who participate in the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) will be required “whenever possible” to extend the program to distressed homeowners who qualify for the federal loan modification program, adding about another 1 million or more into the mix.

However, the HAMP candidates who qualify for the year-long forbearance could have the 12 missed payments tacked back onto their mortgage balance once they are on solid financial footing.

The report indicates that several “hurdles” are being lifted to qualify for the program, making it easier for unemployed homeowners to qualify for the assistance.

If you’re unemployed and would like to learn more about this latest foreclosure assistance program and others click here.

It’s no secret that the $75 billion government-sponsored loan modification program, Making Home Affordable, has fallen short of expectations since its introduction two years ago.

As of the end of Jan. 2011, there had been about 550,000 permanent modifications made nationwide, according to the January Housing Scorecard. That’s good news for some, but bad news for many when compared to the program’s original goal of preventing 3 million to 4 million foreclosures.

The Treasury Department recently admitted that the foreclosure prevention program will probably never attain the original goal that it set back in 2009.

Based on this lackluster performance, there is a movement among Republicans in the nation’s capital to put an end to Making Home Affordable, which they say would save about $1.4 billion and result in 100,000 fewer loan modifications subsidized by taxpayers, according to NASDAQ.com.

In fact, there is a bill currently on the table that would do just that and it is expected to be voted on later this week.

But White House officials are basically saying don’t waste your time because President Obama would never let that happen. Why?

Because Making Home Affordable “is still benefiting tens of thousands of borrowers every month” and it is “important to the nation’s sustained economic recovery.”

Stay tuned to see how this stalemate unfolds.

For ore information and details on the various foreclosure prevention programs offered under Making Home Affordable click here.

Information and acronym overload is just one of many ways to describe all the home-saving programs currently huddled under the federal government’s Making Home Affordable umbrella.

Finding out which program may be best for you, as well as whether or not you qualify for it, can be an overwhelming experience. And if you’re in a tight spot like many of your other neighbors, struggling to meet your monthly mortgage obligations, you’re already probably way past the point of being overwhelmed.

MarketWatch.com has compiled a very helpful list of the various foreclosure, loan modification and short sale programs that are available today.

We’ve shared the most important information below, as well as direct links to the various websites where you can gather more information and request/download all the information you need to remedy your situation as quickly as possible.

Check it out:

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That’s the prescription that Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chairman, Sheila C. Bair, recently issued to cure the ills of the current (and future) housing market.

Here’s a snip from her presentation before the Summit on Residential Mortgage Servicing for the 21st Century in Washington, D.C.:

“The bottom line is that we need more modifications and fewer foreclosures. When foreclosure is unavoidable, we need it to be done with all fairness to the borrower and in accordance with the law. Only by committing to these principles can we begin to move past the foreclosure crisis and rebuild confidence in our housing and mortgage markets.”

Bair elaborates, saying that a well-trained, adequately-compensated single points of contact are required on the servicer side of things who can work with distressed homeowners and provide them with every last opportunity to stay put.

Far too often “costly miscommunication” and misplaced paperwork gums up the foreclosure process, sending homes to the auction block and their inhabitants to the curb sooner than necessary.

It’s an idea that sounds just like Making Home Affordable, which is a $75 billion government-sponsored loan modification program that has “fallen short” of expectations since its introduction nearly two years ago.

Can, as Bair says, “enforceable requirements” in the loan modification program “significantly improve opportunities for homeowners to avoid foreclosure” or is it fundamentally flawed?

The Wales family will not be forced to vacate their home in Prince William County, Va., after its lender reversed its decision to foreclose, according to the Washington Post.

Mike and Kathy, the homeowners, were promised a loan modification earlier this month. But the paperwork never arrived and their lender went ahead and auctioned off the home instead.

It was a crushing turn of events, considering that the couple has to care for their ‘gravely ill’ 10-year-old son, Alex, who suffers from a rare neurogenetic disorder that has left him blind and unable to walk.

The good news is that once their trying story reached the press, the lender moved fast to fix its mistake. In fact, under terms of the deal, the Wales’ monthly mortgage payment will be reduced and the loan will be extended to 40 years.

Not a fairy tale ending, but a positive outcome nonetheless under what must be incredibly difficult circumstances.