Q. I have two loans with the same mortgage company for my condo. The first loan is for $135,000 and the second is for about $30,000. But now, the assessed value of my home is only $107,000. Do you think there's any hope that I might qualify for the Hope program?

A. Looking at the information you've provided, you'll have a difficult time refinancing through Hope for Homeowners, because your lender would have to write off a lot of debt.

If your home is really worth $107,000, you are upside down on your loan, which means you owe more than the property is worth -- in your case, a lot more.

Under the Hope for Homeowners program, you could obtain a new loan for no more than 90% of the current appraised value, or $96,300.

All of that money would be paid to your current lender, but it would have to write off $68,700 or a little more than 40% of your debt. Not many of the banks or investment firms that own mortgages have been willing to voluntarily take that kind of loss. Without your lender's approval, you can't take advantage of the Hope program.

About the only reason a lender would ever accept such a loss is if you can prove that you can no longer afford the payments and it's only a matter of time before you default.

You'll need to show the lender that it will lose less money letting you participate in Hope for Homeowners than by foreclosing. To do that, you'll need some professional help negotiating with your lender. We recommend that you start with a member of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.