FrontDoor.com

As has been widely reported, $50 billion is earmarked to help people trying to keep their houses from slipping into foreclosure, but that still may not make you feel much better if you're looking at your watch, pretty sure that any minute, the sheriff is going to come knocking at your door. If you're one of those people and have a mortgage under Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, you're probably breathing easier already. Over the December holidays, they suspended foreclosure proceedings and halted evictions until at least March.

It's a little dicier for everyone else, but with every passing day, there seems to be another call from someone in the federal government to declare a halt on the other homes in danger of being foreclosed, and within a week or two, it's expected that the Obama administration will debut a national program to help struggling homeowners. For now, you just have to hope you can run out the clock.

A temporary foreclosure moratorium "will obviously help," says Jonathan G. Stein, a prominent California attorney and the author of the California Debt Blog, who overall isn't too thrilled with how the package is shaping up. "Unfortunately, there is too much money going to the banks and financial institutions and not enough directly to the consumers. The consumers still can't deal with the maze of the banks, and the banks aren't in a rush to help people out."

But he says that a moratorium would be welcome especially if there are specific requirements and a detailed blueprint for what the banks need to do to give out loan modifications. "Without that," says Stein, "the bank bureaucracy grinds things to a halt, and homeowners who are doing everything right still get foreclosed on."

If you're none of the above

What if you aren't selling, buying, planning on refinancing or facing foreclosure, but you're simply a good citizen living in your house? You're probably wondering -- have I been reading this article for nothing? Well, we're glad you asked -- the stimulus does promise that if you install doors, windows, an air-conditioner or a furnace in the name of making your house more energy-efficient -- you can recoup 30 percent of the cost, up to $1,500. Hey, it's something.

Geoff Williams is a regular contributor to FrontDoor.com.

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• First-Time Homebuyer's Guide
• Experienced Buyer's Guide
• Home Finance Guide
• Foreclosure Guide for Buyers