From MSNBC — A mortgage rescue to help hundreds of thousands of struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure and get more affordable, safer loans passed the Senate overwhelmingly Friday, but it faces a bumpy road amid continuing turmoil in the housing market.

The 63-5 vote reflected a keen interest by Democrats and Republicans to send election-year help to distressed homeowners with economic issues topping voters’ concerns.

The plan lets homeowners buckling under mortgage payments they can’t afford keep their homes and get more affordable mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration. Banks that agreed to take substantial losses on those distressed loans could avoid costly foreclosures and be assured of recovering at least some money.

The new program would let the FHA insure as much as $300 billion in new mortgages, helping an estimated 400,000 homeowners.

But it still faces major hurdles, including a promised veto from President Bush…read the rest here.

How will the bill change things for buyers and sellers in Denver?  I’m not sure if it will help the people that are honestly in trouble, who have already fallen behind on their payments, and who are going to have a really hard time catching up.  I do think that it will probably benefit the lenders more - which is actually bad news for those buyers who are shopping the great deals right now created by the surplus of foreclosed properties and the lenders’ need to get rid of them.

But I do appreciate the Senate actually doing something, anything to work towards solving the problem…