Is the bailout going to work?  Right now we are on a slippery slope.  As long as foreclosures keep happening, prices will be affected in the neighborhoods where they occur.  Tightened credit will help keep bad loans from being made in the future, but what about those people in trouble now, or who don’t know they are in trouble yet because they don’t know how rate adjustments will affect them?  There may not be immediate help in the bailout bill signed by congress and the president, but the Help for Homeowners program is now in effect and should help hundreds of thousands of homeowners who owe more than their home is worth.  Once the assets purchased by the federal government are valued we should see improvement in the financial sector, but it’s not going to be a quick fix.  For anyone anticipating trouble keeping up with their mortgage, now is a good time to talk to their lender about options available to them.