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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Sometimes fairy tales really do come true.

John Davis, a hard-working auto mechanic from South Carolina, was perhaps just one day away from losing his home to foreclosure.

Then, while stopping to get his three-year-old daughter some chicken nuggets and french fries, he purchased a lotto ticket. It turned out to be a winner … to the tune of $200,000.

It’s an amazing reversal of fortune that left him gasping for air, according to KSDK.com:

“Took my breath away. A few of the people at work came over and I said am I seeing things? They said no you won the lottery…. I went to church Sunday with my daughter, both my daughters and I knew I had the hearing Wednesday for the foreclosure and I just please you know throw me a bone.”

That’s a big bone — especially knowing that before he struck it (relatively) rich, Davis had just $6 in his checking account.

Davis intends to pay off all his debts and put cash aside to send his two daughters to college.

And they lived happily ever after.

Mortgage industry behemoths Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which back and/or own a large majority of home loans throughout the United States, recently announced that they would halt all foreclosure evictions from Dec. 20, 2010, to Jan. 3, 2011.

From Anthony Renzi, executive vice president of single family portfolio management at Freddie Mac:

“If the property is occupied, our foreclosure attorneys will suspend the eviction to provide a greater measure of certainty to families during the holidays.”

Both companies, as well as several others, initiated a similar freeze last year, giving distressed homeowners a little peace of mind during the holiday season.

Eviction is the final stage of the foreclosure process, which can last several months — even years, depending on state laws and circumstances. It’s a last resort if all other rescue options such as loan modification and short sale, among others, are completely exhausted.

If you need foreclosure help be sure to check out several possible solutions that we have shared in our “Stop Foreclosure” archive.

Ever wonder what it looks like on the other end of the line?

New York Times today published an article, “Voices of Foreclosure Speak Daily About Desperation and Misery,” which details the massive customer call center that lending giant Bank of America has assembled in Simi Valley, Calif., to handle the deluge of inquiries from distressed homeowners nationwide.

More than 4,000 employees, many of whom have to be at their desks as early as 5 a.m., field about 50,000 calls per day, according to the report.

To date, the bank, which handles 20 percent of all home loans in the United States, claims that it has made more than 700,000 loan modifications in the last two years, “including 85,000 under the [Home Affordable Modification Program].”

That’s a lot of calls. And it appears that largest mortgage service in the nation is increasing its troop levels significantly to “ease a wave of more than two million foreclosures.”

To contact Bank of America about an existing mortgage or any other issue you can find important numbers right here.