There's a new place in town where people who are having trouble making their house payments can go for help. It's called the Mortgage Help Center and it's a joint project between Fannie Mae and the Minnesota Home Ownership Center, who have opened a local office with local Fannie Mae employees to create a direct link between borrowers (via foreclosure counselors) and Fannie. The goal is to eliminate the mortgage servicers who are typically the go-betweens that process requests for forebearance, modifications and work-out programs. Ed Nelson, spokesperson for the Home Ownership Center, says that a pilot program managed to cut the documentation and approval process from months to weeks. Only mortgages owned by Fannie Mae are eligible, to find out if yours is, you can use the Fannie Mae online loan lookup tool at www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup. Or call 1-800-7fannie. Details about the program are available from the Home Ownership Center at www.hocmn.org. Or call 866-462-6466.