Some thoughts on loan modifications, which I wrote about on Monday and today's Wall Street Journal covered.
There's a huge logjam, borrowers say they're not getting any results, and from the street level. everyone's frustrated, including some bankers.

We're not hearing anything from Washington, either. The Obama Administration set up a program to pay lenders to modify mortgages. So far, few have been done. When I called Treasury to ask for some specifics about how the program is working and whether banks are required to report back on how many loans have been changed, I didn't get an answer or a promised call back with the information.

-Take One: A reader responding to my last story said she put her paperwork in with Chase in December and still hasn't heard back. Another said he waited seven months for word from Wells Fargo. Paperwork got lost. Misinformation was on the application. He was denied.

-Take Two: Chase this morning tells me they have modified 15,000 loans naitonwide since last October using the Obama administration's new plan. This is both a good and a bad number, It's a good number, for one lender (even though Chase now includes Washington Mutual), considering that it's a big chunk of the 55,000 loans nationwide that the administration says have been modified under its plan. But in the overall picture, there are millions of loans in trouble. The proportion of those getting help remains small.

-Take Three: John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education for Credit.com, points out in an email that you don't have to pay anyone to get your loan modified. Sure, some law firms and companies that advertise will handle your modification, but for a fee. It's not necessary. You can do it yourself. But as my story pointed out, it takes a lot of effort.

-Take Four: Ulzheimer points out that modification, if you can get it, won't damage your credit the way a foreclosure or a short sale would.