The Obama administration is trying to jump-start its sputtering attempts to tackle the foreclosure crisis with an effort to assist homeowners who owe more on their properties than their homes are worth.

Starting Tuesday, the Federal Housing Administration will permit lenders to give these borrowers refinanced loans backed by the government. The lenders will be required to forgive at least 10 percent of the original mortgage amount. Investors who have control over the mortgages as part of their portfolios will select which borrowers are invited to participate.

This is latest effort by the administration to address the housing bust. Nearly half of the 1.3 million homeowners who have enrolled in the administration's main mortgage-relief program — overseen by the Treasury Department — have already fallen out over the past year.

Many borrowers say the government program is a bureaucratic nightmare. The new refinancing program takes a different approach. It allows investors in mortgage-backed securities to evaluate their holdings and select borrowers that will be offered refinanced mortgages guaranteed by the FHA. The theory is that there are some loans that investors simply want to unload because they have a high risk of default.

However, when faced with the choice between slashing the amount borrowers owe on their home and foreclosing, lenders have generally chosen to foreclose. Many experts doubt the new program will persuade investors to change their minds.

The government estimates that between 500,000 and 1.5 million homeowners could be helped.

George said investors are likely to only offer refinances to borrowers who have seen their home values plunge to the point where they owe 40 percent more than their home's current value. Those homeowners, he said, are in danger of walking away from their mortgages.