If one thing is clear about the U.S. Treasury’s new assistance programs for mortgage refinancing and loan modification, it’s that very little is clear about them.

Mortgage professionals, economists and housing counselors have plenty of questions and concerns about the Making Home Affordable program. They’re not confident about the government’s assertion that the program will help as many as 9 million homeowners avert foreclosure, and they’re skeptical about the ability of mortgage servicers to handle the complex calculations involved in determining eligibility for the program — or the sheer volume of applications that are expected.

Some of them aren’t impressed by the assistance program’s incentives, like lower monthly payments for borrowers and financial rewards to lenders, and others wonder whether new fees that go into effect on April 1 at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will apply to these loans.

But some things are apparent. It will take time for borrowers to work their way through the process, and the sooner they start, the better.

“There’s a pig-in-a-python effect; there are only so many people picking up the phone,” says Jason Jepson, spokesperson for Irvine, Calif.-based Grander Financial, which handles loan modifications. “The average wait time for a loan modification is 90 to 120 days. You have to look at that calendar and be proactive.”

First things first. Homeowners should determine whether they’re eligible to have their loan refinanced or modified. A borrower cannot have a principal balance above $729,750 and must be current on the loan and meet other requirements, including financial hardship. To find out about the application process, call your mortgage servicer or lender and ask about the Home Affordable Refinance application process. The number is on your monthly mortgage bill or coupon book.

To the lender, Jepson says, each loan is nothing more than a set of numbers and a formula to determine which option will be cheapest for the bank: modification, short sale or foreclosure. Your goal is to make modification look like the least expensive option.

His advice: Educate yourself about the mortgage process so you understand what everyone is saying and what you’re getting yourself into.

“You’ve got to look at it like you’re cramming for a midterm,” he says. “Ask questions, and stop people when you don’t understand something. You have to know the lingo so you don’t get yourself into the same situation that got you into a mortgage you didn’t understand and got you into trouble.”

Even if you’re working with a non-profit housing counselor or hiring someone to do the work for you, you still need to do your homework, Jepson says, “or you’ll find yourself 60 to 90 days in a foreclosed property, or in a house you have to stay in for 10 years. There’s only so many times a consumer can cry foul before someone says, ‘Sorry, you signed the paperwork.’”

Plus, while only borrowers whose debts are 55 percent or more of their gross monthly income are required to work with a HUD-certified housing counselor, it’s a good idea for everyone applying for government-backed refinancing or modification programs to receive counseling.

“I’m finding that the people we see were never beneficiaries of pre-purchase counseling; they didn’t have a clue,” says Walter Walker Jr., director of education and counseling for the Tampa, Fla.-based Housing and Education Alliance. “Now they’re in trouble; they still don’t have a clue. People will come in, they haven’t made a house payment in three months, they’re still gainfully employed and when I ask them how much they’ve saved, they say, ‘What do you mean, ‘saved’? I don’t think we’re helping those families. I’m not fond of anything compulsory, but when we’re putting the taxpayer’s money on the line, [counseling] should be compulsory.”

And, unfortunately, borrowers seeking assistance need to be keenly aware of scammers. The most common scheme is an advance fee, in which a purported loan modification specialist says they’ll guarantee the borrower a modification, for a hefty fee.

“Then off they go to do nothing, and you’re worse off than you would have been otherwise,” says Tom Bartholomy, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Charlotte, N.C. “You’re out the money and the foreclosure is proceeding.”

One tipoff, Bartholomy says, is when borrowers are told not to talk to their lenders, or to stop making their loan payments and instead send the payments to the scammers.

The latest version of the scam, he says, is people calling borrowers and offering mortgage assistance, claiming to be from the lender. “They most certainly are not,” Bartholomy says. “The call needs to go the other way. You need to initiate that process. If someone is calling you on the phone, don’t call the number they provide. Call your lender yourself and find out if it’s legitimate.”