If you know you're headed for trouble with your mortgage or you already are there, brace yourself.

It's a mess for borrowers trying to renegotiate the terms of their mortgages right now. That's despite a highly publicized, $75 billion, Obama administration program that pays lenders to modify loans.

If you need to get a new deal on your mortgage - as millions of people do - the best thing you can do is to arm yourself with information, about the problems you'll face and what you can do to get around them.

"People are confused," said Kevin Walker, president and chief executive of MortgageReport.com, a new website that helps borrowers learn whether they are eligible for loan modifications. "Frankly, lenders are still trying to figure out the procedures they're supposed to follow to implement these programs."