Remember the classic Ronald Reagan line, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’” Well, those in the real estate business are probably going to be saying it often around the water cooler in the coming months.

AThe administration's housing plan provides two types of assistance that are designed to help make mortgages more affordable for up to 9 million homeowners: refinancing and loan modification.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have published the rules governing their upcoming mass refinancing campaigns, and they're more favorable for borrowers than indicated at first by the White House and Treasury, especially for owners of second homes and small investment properties.

The Obama administration's new mortgage modification plan is a positive step forward but questions remain about how the government will enforce new standards and what agency officials plan to do about problematic second mortgages, according to a congressional oversight panel report on Friday.

The jobless and many of those who owe far more than home is worth won't benefit much from Obama's foreclosure prevention plan.