2 of 6
BACKNEXT
Dawn Porter: Didn't qualify
Dawn Porter: Didn't qualify
Dawn Porter at her home in Alpharetta, Ga.
Dawn Porter spent months trying to convince her lender to modify her mortgage under the Obama plan -- with no success.

Porter, who lost her job as an interior designer in March, has managed to stay current with her $960 monthly payments. And her home is still worth more than she owes, thanks to her putting down 20% when she bought it.

Still, she been told she's ineligible for the program, she said. The bank, JPMorgan Chase, has told her that she has too much equity in her home and that she doesn't earn enough to qualify for a modification.

Tired of fighting, she finally gave up. While looking for a job, she's surviving on unemployment benefits and has started a high-end design company specializing in children's rooms called Spoiled Rotten Rooms.

But she thinks the Obama administration should expand its foreclosure rescue plan to help homeowners like her.

"They wrote the law for people who had bad mortgages and who are upside down," said Porter, referring to people with mortgages that exceed their homes' value. "There's no way someone like me would make it.

A long-term modification is usually not the right solution for an unemployed homeowner, said a Chase spokesman, noting the bank doesn't discuss individual cases.

Instead, the institution often offers a forbearance plan that allows homeowners to make smaller or no payments for a few months while they look for work. If they cannot find a job after an extended search, they probably cannot afford the home so the bank will discuss with them exit options, the spokesman said.

NEXT: Jeffrey Huegel: Lower payments

Last updated October 24 2009: 8:56 AM ET
Email | Print | Share  |  RSS
 
google my aol my msn my yahoo! netvibes
Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader
See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close)
More Galleries
10 of the most luxurious airline amenity kits When it comes to in-flight pampering, the amenity kits offered by these 10 airlines are the ultimate in luxury More
7 startups that want to improve your mental health From a text therapy platform to apps that push you reminders to breathe, these self-care startups offer help on a daily basis or in times of need. More
5 radical technologies that will change how you get to work From Uber's flying cars to the Hyperloop, these are some of the neatest transportation concepts in the works today. More

Special Offer

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.