<prompt> Human: Weve been making mortgage payments for about 11 years now at a 6.25 percent interest rate. At some point relatively quickly after buying the house and the market crashing we couldnt sell it and we had two children. Soon after that I lost my job and had to get a new one so our credit ended up getting bad when we got behind on the mortgage.Currently our credit isnt good but we are all caught up on the bills. That being said the bank still will not refinance and we simply cant afford to pay this high mortgage payment anymore.A refinance at this point would cut our monthly payment down by about 500 which would make it manageable but we cant find a bank that will do it with our credit. I read something about HARP being a government program that gives assistance for this kind of situation. Does anyone here know anything about that and if we might qualify? We are no longer upside down on the loan but after making payments for 11 years we now owe what the house is worth and we cant afford to make necessary home repairs such as fixing the old roof and replacing the broken HVAC.  <response>: the bank still will not refinanceHow hard have you looked? You dont want to start with your current bank; they dont benefit from you refinancing. You want to start with literally any other bank. Heres the HARP main page. You have to have a GSE-backed loan, either Fannie or Freddie. Do you know? If not, there are tools on that page to answer the question. Other than that requirement, you seem to meet all the other eligibility requirements.If your loan isnt a Fannie or Freddie, it may be an FHA, in which case youre eligible for an FHA streamline refi. If not, your best bet is probably to talk to a mortgage loan agent. They take a cut off the top but theyll help you find a refi thatll save you a lot of money in the long run. 