How helpful is the foreclosure help?

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Steve Chiotakis: It’s been exactly 3 months since the Obama Administration unveiled a plan to help people avoid foreclosure. It’s called “Making Home Affordable.” The nation’s largest banks and loan servicers are participating even though it’s voluntary. But is it working? Tamara Keith reports.

TAMARA KEITH: Sub-prime loans touched off the foreclosure crisis. Now Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan says the recession is driving it.

SHAUN DONOVAN: Job loss is the primary driver today of new foreclosures and this new program can definitely help.

So far banks and servicers have offered loan modifications to 55,000 homeowners, a far cry from the millions it promises to help. Some consumer advocates say it’s still a step forward.

But others say servicers are hard to reach and not up to speed. Bruce Marks is with the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America. He says some companies aren’t serious about helping.

BRUCE MARKS: While they’re working through the bugs and the solutions and overcoming the roadblocks, hundreds of thousands of homeowners are being foreclosed on.

Marks says the program has barely made a dent.

In Washington, I’m Tamara Keith for Marketplace.