'Hope Now' Offers Little of Either

The Hope Now Alliance also faces the challenge of coordinating the efforts of dozens of independent entities. Prodded by the Bush administration, the alliance signed up 11 large lenders representing some 60 percent of the U.S. mortgage market, along with industry trade groups like the Mortgage Bankers Association. A handful of housing advocacy and community groups also signed on, including the Homeownership Preservation Foundation, which operated a counseling hotline.

"We're working with third-party housing counselors, we're working on improving communication and access to services," said Schwartz. "And it's not easy."

Though the Alliance is pursuing its mission on several fronts, including a mass mailing offering help to homeowners at risk of default, the centerpiece of the effort is a toll-free hotline, 1-888-995–HOPE.

Our story last week on the hotline's progress generated several hundred e-mails from homeowners, some of whom said they had already lost their homes. Some readers were critical of any government program designed to help homeowners who, they believe, knowingly took on loans they couldn't afford. Others offered ideas on solutions to help those with distressed mortgages in danger of losing their homes. One volunteered to answer calls for the hotline.

But of those who reported contacting the hotline, the overwhelming majority were critical of the response they got. Some said they're still waiting to hear back.

"I spoke to someone there, and they promised to get back to me and haven't," said Kathy Turnbaugh, of Altoona, Pa. "That was on Feb. 23. It is now March 6, and I still haven't heard from them. My house is scheduled for a sheriff's sale on April 9, so I was really hoping someone would help me out. I need to save my home, but don't know where else to turn."

Professionals working with homeowners facing foreclosure also complained that the program was falling short in its mission.

"I am a bankruptcy attorney in California," wrote Randy Walton, of Modesto, Calif. "I have sent countless clients to the toll-free number 888-995-HOPE. Almost every client has returned to my office for bankruptcy relief because either: (1) nobody answered the toll free number (a recording explains that 'thousands' of people call every day); or (2) the 'counselors' could not or would not help them."

"I am a 30-year mortgage industry veteran and called the number just to be left on hold and told they were busy and (the) call disconnected," wrote Jane Martin, a financial advisor in Alexandria, Ind., who specializes in mortgages. "This is unacceptable and explains the failure of the program."

Hope Now officials also say the frustration reported by msnbc.com readers may be due, in part, to a misunderstanding about the program's scope.

"(Many callers) report that they are calling for a variety of reasons including looking for grant or rescue funds, wanting general information, needing to know how to contact their servicer, qualifying for a rate freeze or needing to talk to their servicer," said Tracy Morgan, communications director for the Homeownership Preservation Foundation, which operates the hotline for the alliance. "Every caller is not necessarily a candidate for counseling for these reasons."