Despite the perception of many critics that the Obama administration‘s government repo prevention program has not made a difference in the nationwide foreclosure situation, the Treasury Department has claimed that over 120,000 home loans were modified in the first few months after the Making Home Affordable program was launched.

The first results are a significant improvement over the negligible results of the Hope for Homeowners program launched in 2008. This government repo prevention program attracted only a few applications because of eligibility requirement problems and lack of lender participation.

President Obama’s government repo prevention program has also not progressed as fast as expected in cutting down and preventing foreclosures, but it has been the most promising government repo prevention scheme so far, according to housing analysts.

Rosa Miro, a counselor working for Consumer Credit Counseling of Central Florida, said she has not helped even one homeowner in previous government repo prevention programs. The current foreclosure prevention program is more effective because it has provided $75 billion to encourage both lenders and borrowers to participate in the program.

In the Hope for Homeowners program launched in 2008, loan modification was voluntary on the part of lenders, who refused to spend more money to modify loans.

In the current program, mortgage lenders and loan servicers are not only given incentives to modify loans, they are also protected from lawsuits that could be filed by investors who purchased mortgage-backed securities investors.

Jeff Purdue, head of brokerage Orlando Home Mortgage, lauded the lender protection law because it changed the attitudes of lenders and servicers previously wary of expensive investor lawsuits.

Meanwhile, there were 3,650 homeowners who were able to refinance their loans through the Obama administration’s Making Home Affordable program. The approval rate however has not been released by the Treasury Department.

Some critics are saying the government repo prevention program has not been effective because they are comparing the number of loan modifications and refinancing to current and expected nationwide foreclosures.

Based on a report from the Center for Responsible Lending, over 2.4 million foreclosures will be added to current foreclosure inventories. This number could increase as 12 percent of 45 million home loan borrowers nationwide had become delinquent, based on data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Indeed, in order for the government repo prevention program to make significant progress, officials have to work overtime to evaluate its progress and make adjustments and improvements.