Will the housing bailout help you?

Pay borrowers and lenders for success

Mortgage service companies will receive an upfront fee of $1,000 for each eligible modification. They will also receive pay-for-success fees -- awarded monthly as long as the borrower stays current on the loan -- of up to $1,000 each year for three years.

Borrowers who pay on time will receive a monthly balance-reduction payment that goes straight toward reducing the principal of the loan. As long as a borrower stays current, he or she can get up to $1,000 each year for five years.

To keep lenders focused on reaching borrowers who are trying their best to stay current on their mortgages, incentive payments of $500 will be paid to servicers and $1,500 to mortgage holders if they modify at-risk loans before the borrowers fall behind.

Remove uncertainty around further price declines

To encourage lenders to modify more mortgages and enable more families to keep their homes, the administration and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. have developed an insurance fund (of up to $10 billion) that would pay mortgage holders for each modified loan if the home price index declines.

• Analysis: Why your home's value will keep falling

Institute consistent, clear guidelines for loan modifications

The Treasury will develop uniform guidance for loan modifications across the mortgage industry. All financial institutions receiving bailout money going forward will be required to implement loan-modification plans consistent with the guidelines. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will use these guidelines for loans they own or guarantee, and the Obama administration will work with regulators and other federal and state agencies to implement these guidelines across the entire mortgage market.

The agencies will seek to apply these guidelines when permissible and appropriate to all loans owned or guaranteed by the federal government, including those owned or guaranteed by Ginnie Mae, the Federal Housing Administration, the Treasury, the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Agriculture.

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