Roz Dalebout is fighting to keep her home, and she's not alone.

The Salt Lake City homeowner, who has faced several financial setbacks in recent years, first contacted her lender last June when she began to worry about her ability to pay her mortgage each month.

Like many others who are struggling, her only hope was a loan modification, in which a lender agrees either to lower the interest rate, extend the life of the loan or defer some of the amount owed, all of which can lower the monthly mortgage payment.

But nine months and countless calls later, she's still waiting to find out whether she qualifies. Selling her home probably isn't an option because with the housing market's downturn, she probably can't sell it for enough to cover her mortgage.

"I'm scared to death I'm going to lose my home," she said.

Nationally, hundreds of thousands of homeowners such as Dalebout are being considered for help under loan modification programs. But housing advocates, analysts and others warn that most of those borrowers will eventually lose their homes. Even the widely touted $75 billion foreclosure-prevention program pushed by the Obama administration has helped about 170,000 homeowners in the past year out of up to 4 million in need of assistance.

zOne reason for the low rate of success is the complex way mortgages are originated, sold and packaged to investors.

The company a homeowner makes payments to often is only servicing the loan. After a loan is originated it is sold to investors on what's called the secondary market. It's the investors, such as pension funds or hedge funds, that own the loan as part of a bundle of mortgages, and they must provide permission for any modifications.

Even in good economic conditions, it takes time for modification plans to be approved. Investors must determine whether modifying a mortgage will result in less of a loss than refusing to make concessions to the homeowner, or even letting the home fall into foreclosure.

With the Great Recession, however, the high volume of modification requests is slowing down that decision-making process even more.

Further complicating matters are the personal situations of homeowners, some of whom have multiple mortgages on their properties.

Loan modification criteria also varies greatly among individual lenders, which makes it difficult for consumers to know what to do when they start to have difficulty paying their mortgages. Some servicers prefer homeowners contact them before they fall behind; others are willing to consider a modification only after they have missed one or more payments.

"We'd like to see an effective, wide-scale loan modification program which is mandatory for all lenders," said Norma Garcia, a senior attorney with Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine. "Lenders must make loan modifications affordable for borrowers for the long term."

Under the Obama plan, lenders can elect to "opt out" and handle modifications in their own way.

For example, Zions Bank sells most of its loans on the secondary market. Of the loans that remain on its books in Utah and Idaho, the bank is not part of the Obama plan.

The bank implemented its own modification program last summer, said spokesman Rob Brough.

By exiting the Obama plan, Brough said, the bank was able to modify loans above $750,000.

But under the Zions plan, the bank will not do a principal forbearance -- meaning base the mortgage payments on a lower loan amount. "What we can do is lower the rate as low as 2 percent, and we'll extend the loan out to 40 years."

Despite the differences among individual lenders, there are two things every borrower should do, said Ryan Carver, director of housing for AAA Fair Credit Foundation in Salt Lake City, a nonprofit that provides credit counseling services.

"Keep in contact with your lender -- let them know what's going on. And get help from a reliable source."

One of the biggest mistakes struggling homeowners make is to wait. "But the longer you wait, the less opportunities you have to save your home," he said.

His advice is to let your loan servicer know as soon as you can that you're having trouble, even if you aren't yet past due.

Then contact one of the counseling agencies affiliated with the Housing Education Coalition of Utah listed at www.hecutah.org. Or go to www.hud.gov and click on "Avoid Foreclosure."

Carver said homeowners should be wary of companies charging hundreds or thousands of dollars to help them obtain a loan modification.

"Fraud is rampant in this state right now. A lot of people are being charged a lot of money -- $2,500 or more -- to get help that they could have been able to get for free."

Lenders have three main ways to help you keep your home -- they can lower your interest rate, extend the term of your loan or do the principal forbearance. (You're still on the hook for the entire loan amount regardless of the option.)

But to get a lender to agree to any of these moves, borrowers must demonstrate they are serious about trying to keep their homes and make the financial sacrifices required to accomplish that goal.

"If you want help, you have to demonstrate to your servicer you are willing to cut out anything that isn't necessary," Carver said. "That includes eating out, entertainment, cable TV."

Carver said doing without a cell phone or other convenience can be difficult for many people, and some just can't do it.

But Ashli Parry says she and her husband did just that in trying to save their home. The couple, who have both gone through bouts of unemployment during the downturn, are earning less than they were before the recession hit.

Parry said she first contacted their lender in February 2009 for a loan modification. It took her servicer until October to agree to temporarily lower the couple's monthly mortgage payment from 6.5 percent to 2 percent.

During the eight months in between, she kept in close contact with her lender, calling frequently and submitting requested paperwork, in many cases multiple times.

"I've had to send them the same paperwork over and over again. They kept losing it," she said.

She and her husband are still waiting to hear whether their trial repayment plan will be locked in for the long term. The lower payments -- $1,200 per month, compared with $1,700 -- are what's helping the couple avoid foreclosure and keep their home.

Like many Utah homeowners seeking modifications, the Parrys bought in August 2007 -- near the height of the market. Many who purchased homes from 2005 to 2008 now owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.

Ashli Parry's advice to others just beginning the loan modification request process? Be patient. "Be the squeaky wheel. Keep calling them every day."