HAMP, HARP, TARP, TAMP, H4H …. If you think they all seem to do the same thing, you’re not too far off.  Here’s a little decoding: 

The Bush Housing Plan:

H4H = Hope for Homeowners
Unveiled by Bush Administration in July 2008, ends September 30, 2011.   The program – is available only to owner occupants and offers 30-year fixed rate mortgages –  refinances mortgages for borrowers who are having difficulty making their payments, but can afford a new loan insured by HUD’s Federal Housing Administration (FHA).

The Obama Housing Plan

HASP = The Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan
(aka MHAP - the Making Home Affordable Plan) is the government’s solution to stabilize the housing markets.  The Obama housing plan is supported by the following programs:

HARP = Home Affordable Refinance Program
Low-cost refinancing to qualifying homeowners.  Makes it possible to refinance even if the equity in their property has fallen below “conforming loan” standards 

HAMP = Home Affordable Modification Plan 
Calls for the government to invest $75 billion to provide incentives to mortgage lenders and qualifying homeowners to modify the terms of their loans through term-interest rate reduction (lower interest payments on their mortgages and longer periods of repayment) or principal reductions:

FHA-HAMP   
As of August 15, homeowners who have Federal Housing Authority (FHA) insured loans are able to take advantage of the HAMP and modify their loans if they are 1 or more months late/delinquent in their payments.   

Home Equity Loan Modification
Second Lien program that provides incentives for servicers to modify or extinguish second liens once a first mortgage has been modified(It’s estimated ~ 50% of homeowners eligible for the housing plan’s mortgage modification program have seconds). 

TARP = Troubled Asset Relief Program
A US Government program to purchase assets and equity from financial institutions to strengthen the financial sector.  It is the largest component of the government’s measures in 2008 to address the subprime mortgage crisis.

Hope Now 
Is an alliance between counselors, mortgage companies, investors, and other mortgage market participants formed to maximize outreach efforts to homeowners in distress to help them stay in their homes and create a unified, coordinated plan to reach and help as many homeowners as possible.