Homeowners who are struggling to make mortgage payments now have a new place to turn for information on programs that could help. Mortgage giant Fannie Mae has just launched a new web site, KnowYourOptions.com, that aims to help homeowners figure out the best solution to a difficult problem. But is a company that has so far racked up $75 billion in bailout funds from the U.S. Treasury in any position to dole out advice?

Guy Cecala, the publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance, a trade publication, says yes. While Fannie Mae and its sister company, Freddie Mac, continue to receive attention as the mortgage crisis unwinds, they re not linked to the borrowers in the deepest trouble, says Cecala. They maintained stricter underwriting standards than the true subprime lenders. The size of Fannie Mae s problems has more to do with the size of the firm and their footprint in the industry, rather than their underwriting, Cecala says.

Consumer advocates argue that any effort to educate homeowners about their options is worthwhile. The rate of foreclosures is still on the rise, with more than 1.6 million properties facing foreclosure filings in the first half of the year. Although the new web site stresses avoiding foreclosure as a key goal for any consumer, the options presented don t always help homeowners remain homeowners. People are coming to the conclusion that it doesn t necessarily help people to stay in a home that they can t afford, Cecala says.

Here are some reactions to Fannie Mae s new web site:

Mortgage Industry Analysts

The information presented on the site isn t new, but it ll be helpful for stressed consumers to have it collected in one easy-to-navigate location, says Keith Gumbinger, the vice president of mortgage-data firm HSH Associates. Because government programs keep changing, there s been a lot of initiatives and a lot of acronyms, and there still is a lot of borrower confusion, Gumbinger says. The site also contains information about free educational events in different states, which isn t readily available elsewhere, he says.

The programs mentioned on the web site appear to apply only to borrowers whose loans are held by Fannie Mae, and many borrowers may not know the status of their own loan, Gumbinger says. But borrowers are quickly directed to other sites where they can find out if their loan is backed by Fannie Mae. And roughly similar programs should be available to borrowers with non-Fannie-Mae loans, so the site can still help those homeowners learn about what kinds of questions to ask their lenders, Gumbinger says.

Some of the options presented on the site, like short sales, may be relatively new to some consumers. But for many struggling homeowners, it s not that they don t know their options, it s that they don t qualify, Cecala says. There s still a lot of red tape for consumers to get through to actually achieve a loan modification or other solution, he says. Dealing with a problem that affects millions of people on a case-by-case basis is always going to be logistically difficult and time-consuming, Cecala says.

It s significant that the layout of the site presents Options to Stay in Your Home and Options to Leave Your Home on an equal footing, Cecala says. Low housing prices have made foreclosure less financially attractive to lenders, so right now you have the lenders probably the most willing that they ll ever be to do loan modifications or workouts, he says. As the market picks up, keeping borrowers in homes they can t afford will grow more difficult, and the site appears to acknowledge that, he says.

Consumer Advocates

Consumers need information on ways to leave their home without going through foreclosure, as well as ways to keep their current home, consumer advocates say. The fact of the matter is, consumers find themselves in every part of that spectrum, says Barry Zigas, the director of housing policy for the Consumer Federation of America. Simply presenting information on short sales or deed-for-lease programs doesn t mean that you re trying to bias [the borrower s] decision, Zigas says.

Borrowers should research every possible option that would keep them in their homes before considering giving up ownership, says Gail Cunningham, a spokeswoman for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. Not only is it better financially to preserve the investment made in a home whenever possible, it s a smart thing to do emotionally, Cunningham says. If you can fall back on the knowledge that you tried everything else first, you re going to feel better, she says.

Educating consumers can only help, but information ultimately won t solve the current foreclosure crisis, Zigas says. The kinds of problems that consumers are confronting today are very different than the ones people were confronting in 2008, he says. Two years ago, resetting interest rates on adjustable-rate mortgages left many borrowers suddenly unable to make payments. Today, the mortgage problem is really an unemployment problem, Zigas says. The best solution for people who are in danger of losing their home because of unemployment is a job, he says.