The Obama administration expanded its $50 billion mortgage aid program on Thursday, announcing new measures that would help homeowners avoid a foreclosure if they don’t qualify for other assistance.

The new initiatives are expected to streamline the process of selling a home that is worth less than the mortgage, or transfer ownership of a home to the lender. Both options will still ding the homeowner’s credit score, but less than a foreclosure.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan held a press conference Thursday with borrowers who saved their homes through the government’s mortgage aid program called Making Home Affordable.

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