Will the takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac help out homeowners? The answer will depend largely on whether a homeowner is current with her or her monthly mortgage payments, according to an  Associated Press story.

 NEW YORK—The government’s historic bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Sunday will be good news to homebuyers and some homeowners hoping to refinance if it leads to lower mortgage rates, as experts expect.

But for homeowners already behind on their mortgage payments, or who owe more than their homes are now worth, the plan unveiled Sunday by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson offers little in the way of extra relief.

“The bailout will give the mortgage industry a stability that we haven’t had in a couple of years,” said Rich Cosner, president of Prudential California Realty. “But frankly no, it won’t help (struggling borrowers) to refinance.”

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac play a critical and increasingly dominant role in the mortgage market. The companies buy mortgage loans from banks and package those loans into securities that they either hold or sell to U.S. and foreign investors. That allows traditional lenders like Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Washington Mutual to make more loans.