New Mortgage Relief Website Online - Sponsored by FICO and Friends

FICO (NYSE: FIC), the company that developed the credit scoring model used by most mortgage lenders, has joined forces with two non-profit groups to launch a mortgage relief website for consumers.

Are you eligible for mortgage relief under President Obama's Making Home Affordable program? Do you qualify for a loan modification or a refinance?

These are common questions for many struggling homeowners right now, and for obvious reasons. But until recently, this was a hard question to answer. Over the last few weeks, eligibility criteria for the Obama mortgage relief program have been posted on various websites, and often with conflicting information. A new website created by a credit-scoring giant and two non-profit organizations may eliminate some of the confusion.

The new website, MortgageReliefOnline.com, can help you find out if you're eligible for mortgage relief under the newly established federal programs. Specifically, the website allows "at-risk" homeowners to determine if they qualify for a mortgage modification or a refinance loan -- the two key components of the Making Home Affordable program.

The new website is joint effort sponsored by three organizations:

• FICO (credit scoring company)
• The Homeownership Preservation Foundation (a non-profit homeownership advocate)
• Money Management International (a non-profit credit counseling agency)

As mentioned, this website can help you find out if you qualify for a mortgage refinance or modification under the government's Making Home Affordable program -- a program that gives incentives to primary lenders for making mortgage refis and mods.

Here's how the online process works:

1. Visit the Mortgage Relief Online website at www.MortgageReliefOnline.com.
2. Look for the big orange "Click Now" button. Click on it to launch the questionnaire.
3. You'll be asked a variety of questions about your home, your mortgage loan, and your intentions.
4. Based on your input, you'll find out if you qualify for mortgage relief in the form of (A) refinance, (B) loan modification, and/or (C) credit counseling.
5. If it turns out that you qualify for mortgage modification, you're information will be sent to Money Management International.
6. If you are qualified, MMI will work with you to start the loan modification process, and even send a request to your lender on your behalf.
7. There is no charge for the services provided by MMI, and there is no charge to use the website.

If you'd rather use the federal government website to determine eligibility, you can do that by visiting MakingHomeAffordable.gov. But this site merely asks you a handful of questions and then tells you to contact your lender -- not nearly as helpful as the Mortgage Relief Online site. I also recommend perusing the FAQ page on the latter site, because it will help you understand how the process works.

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