The Home Affordable Modification Program was a godsend to many troubled homeowners after the financial crisis, allowing tens of thousands of mortgage holders to reduce their monthly payments to no more than 31% of their gross monthly income, often through interest rate reductions.

But, all good things must end, and HAMP – which helped many avoid foreclosure – was only a five-year, temporary fix. Now, modifications that began in February 2009 are maturing out of the program, and into a gradual increase in interest rates. For most, this means a final monthly payment increase of $196; for some, it could be as high as $1,724, depending upon where the average rate for a 30-year loan sat at the time of the modification.

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Almost 90% of HAMP loans will see increases According to the latest report from the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, 88% of the nearly 900,000 active HAMP loans will see their payments rise between now and 2021. With many borrowers having their rate reduced to as little as 2%, a 1% per year rise will likely be painful. Some will see their rates reset up to 5.4% over the next few years — more painful still.

Obviously, the redefault risk is pretty high. As SIGTARP notes, those in the HAMP program the longest default at the highest rate – nearly 50%. Almost half of homeowners with HAMP modifications received them from 2009 to 2010. The overall default rate at the end of last year was 28%.

Which institutions hold these loans? Of the 10 major servicers involved with HAMP, Bank of America Corp.  (NYSE: BAC ) , JPMorgan Chase & Co.  (NYSE: JPM )  and Wells Fargo  (NYSE: WFC )  are in the top five. At the end of 2013, redefaults for each bank associated with HAMP loans was 31% for B of A, 23% for JPMorgan, and 24% for Wells. Ocwen Loan Servicing and Nationstar Mortgage, the other two servicers in the top five, each had redefault rates of 30% and 26%, respectively. Can they expect a whole lot more in the next few years? It certainly seems like it.

HGTV has brought together some of the top real estate experts to compile the definitive list of the biggest mistakes we all make when buying and selling our homes.

25. Buying a House for Its Decor Remember that you are buying the house, not the things inside it, so make sure you see beyond the decorations and look at the bones of the home. Focus on the floor plan and the square footage. You also might want to measure the dimensions and graph out how that’s going to work with your belongings.

24. Not Providing Easy Access for Showings Make your house easily accessible to potential buyers. If there’s nowhere to park or it’s difficult to get into, buyers may just skip it and look at someone else’s property. 23. Not Researching the Neighborhood It’s absolutely critical that you research the neighborhood before you buy. Check out the area, amenities and the school system to be sure that your address corresponds with the correct school district. Also attend a community meeting, if possible. You’re not just buying a house, you’re buying a piece of that real estate and the land around it.

22. Losing Money With Auctions While the starting bidding price for a house on auction might be a good deal, it doesn’t mean the final price will be. Make sure that you are very strict with your budget when you are bidding; do not go over your final price because you got wrapped up in the excitement of a bidding war. Another thing to keep in mind is that when you buy a property at auction, you aren’t able to get any of the warrantees or guarantees, and you are not able to do a home inspection. Find out if the auctioneer is going to add those charges on top of the sale price as well as if there are any liens on the property. You could be responsible for paying the property taxes on that house you just bought, which could make what looks like a good deal into a really bad deal. 21. Trying to Make the “Hard Sell” While Showing If you are selling your house, you really shouldn’t be around at the open house. You might want to try to sell the place on all the reasons you think the house is great, but that might not translate to the buyer. If you leave, you allow the buyers to give unbiased objective feedback to the agent, which is only going to help you in the end. 20. Waiting Until Spring to Sell Your House Spring is the busiest real estate activity period, but that does not mean that people don’t buy houses 365 days of the year. That doesn’t mean you can’t emphasize your home’s seasonal amenities.

When the real estate market is really hot and is appreciating really fast, people tend to look at it like it’s the stock market. But playing real estate is nothing like the stock market; when you invest in real estate, you really need to take a long-term approach.

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