1 million mortgage holders fall through safety net

"About one million homeowners have fallen through the safety net Congress set up ... to protect borrowers from losing their homes, according to industry data, potentially leaving them vulnerable to foreclosure and eviction," The Wall Street Journal reports.

What's happening: "Homeowners with federally guaranteed mortgages can skip monthly payments for as long as a year without penalty and make them up later," The Journal reports. "Many people have instead fallen behind on their payments, digging themselves into a deepening financial hole through accumulated missed payments and late fees."