With the new foreclosure prevention program that is a part of the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan, many people are getting help with their mortgages. Many companies are now offering options to restructure a mortgage. However, not everyone qualifies for this. Wondering if you qualify to restructure your mortgage? Here's a look of qualifications you'll need in order to restructure your mortgage for some help to avoid foreclosure.

Jan 1, 2009 - Cutoff Date for Mortgage Origination

First of all, if you want to qualify to restructure your mortgage, it's important that you have a mortgage that originated before January 1st in 2009. Mortgages after that will not qualify. However, going forward, new mortgages will qualify for the restructuring program.

You Must Be at Risk

Another qualification for this restructuring plan is that you must be at risk. People who are facing hardship, loss of income, payment shock, higher interest rates, increases in the amount of their expenses, and other hardships that make people at risk for default are eligible for this restructuring of their mortgage.

Irresponsible Borrowers Don't Qualify

On the other hand, if you happen to be an irresponsible borrower, you are not going to qualify for a restructure to your mortgage. You will have to show that you are a borrower who is responsible. If you borrowed for the mortgage irresponsibly knowing that you could not keep paying it, you will not be able to have your mortgage restructured. This will only cause more problems in the future, which is why the government is not allowing it.

Must Be Able to Afford a Payment

In order to be able to restructure your mortgage, you will have to be able to afford a payment as well. This is done to keep taxpayers protected. If you are not able to make a payment, even if it is lower, then you are not going to qualify for this option. This means that you'll have to show that you are able to make the payments once they are lowered. If you cannot do this, then you won't be approved for the restructure of your mortgage.

So, as you can see, restructuring your mortgage is a great option, and many people are going to be thankful they can use it. Not everyone, however, is going to be able to qualify. If you are among the ones who will be able to qualify for the loan restructuring program, it can definitely be a great plan which can help you avoid losing your home, which is the main goal of this plan. This plan just became available on March 4th, 2009, and for many people, it has been extremely helpful and is lowering their payments to ones that they can afford.

Check with your mortgage holder to see if you can be considered eligible for this plan. If you are unable to get answers from your mortgage holder, you might try checking with a Realtor you know and trust for some guidance on getting started.