Executives in the banking industry are skeptical about lending a hand to troubled borrowers by offering a home mortgage credit. Executives have told lawmakers they are willing to work with some borrowers in special limited cases. They feel borrowers who pay their mortgages on time will feel this practice is unfair. Issues of fairness and how to determine the need for help is the concerning issue for many banking officials and lawmakers. Some estimates show that reducing home loan balances could cost up to 900 billion dollars.

As of March 2010, more than 230,000 homeowners had completed loan modifications. That is a small percent of the borrowers enrolled in the program. Four mortgage companies, the four largest in the country, have come under fire for not doing enough to help borrowers as part of the Obama administration’s $75 billion mortgage relief program. It has been noted that some families are already getting some relief from the Home Mortgage Credit, but it is a slow start. The administration has intention to expand the program in the near future by including a plan to reduce the total amount some struggling borrowers owe on their home loans and give unemployed homeowners a temporary break. The details on this plan are expected to take a few months.

Many Republicans are against the Home Mortgage Credit, stating that our country’s focus should be on creating jobs and that the housing market should not have government intervention or manipulation.

The forecasts at this point predict the new programs will help about 35,000 homeowners avoid foreclosures this year. Unfortunately, 1.9 million homeowners are anticipated to still lose their homes. While awaiting further details on the plan, borrowers should continue to apply for the Home Mortgage Credit. Further information is available at HomeMortgage.com.

Municipal bonds, or munis, are an investment option some individuals like to use because bond values may be exempt from federal and state income tax, depending on the type of bond. Based on the fact that several government organizations issue bonds as a way to raise funds for public projects like schools, sewer systems, highways, housing, and hospitals, some view munis as safe investments.

With bond values, the face value remains the same regardless of the interest rate. The face value is the principal, or the original amount, you invested when you purchased the bond. The face value also indicates whether or a not a bond is selling at a premium amount, which means the bond values are higher than the principal amount. Discounted munis mean the seller is letting the bond go for less than the principal investment.

While many bonds have a set interest rate and pay investors the earned interest on a semi-annual basis, there are other types of bonds. Floating rate bonds and zero coupon bonds can affect bond values because the interest rates fluctuate based on predetermined benchmark interest rate indexes. With zero coupon bonds, you don’t receive a payment until the bond matures, at which point you get the face value plus any compounded interest.

Since bond values may change based on the interest rate, you may want to use online resources to track future values. Online bond values calculators allow you to enter the information for a specific bond into the template in order to get an estimated value. If you have an idea of the factors affecting the value, this can be a quick way to determine the value. Some investors also use bond indices to determine the yield, duration, and final value for a bond.