By Lisa Prevost | The New York Times
Homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments should check their mail carefully in coming weeks. Lenders will be offering loan modifications without even being asked.
Under a new Streamlined Modification Initiative announced by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, mortgage servicers must now offer borrowers who are 3 to 24 months delinquent a plan to help avoid foreclosure.
Unlike the Home Affordable Modification Program, an earlier government initiative known as HAMP, this one 
carries no burdensome documentation requirement. Borrowers may be approved without providing any proof of financial hardship.
The elimination of paperwork coupled with a proactive approach should benefit borrowers, said Timothy M. Dwyer, the chief executive of Entitle Direct, a direct-to-consumer title insurance company. “All it takes is for the borrower to make that new payment and they’re in the trial period of the program,” he said. “It can’t be any more simple than that. There’s not even a requirement that you sign something, send it in and have it approved.”
