Existing Second Mortgages May Be Major "Pothole" On Road To Refinance

Syndicated real estate columnist Kenneth Harney recently wrote:

• Everybody wants to help keep people in their houses and out of financial stress and foreclosure, right? That's what the Bush administration says, and that's what top executives of major banks, mortgage companies and Wall Street investors all say. But where the proverbial rubber hits the road -- at the point where individual homeowners seek to refinance out of unfavorable loans or modify their mortgage terms -- things may look different.

For more, including how a second mortgage holder's arbitrary refusal to "subordinate" their interest in favor of a refinancing first mortgage might create an insurmountable obstacle for a homeowner seeking to lower his house payments, see Lenders' policies stymie attempts at financial help.