Require banks to automatically refinance all mortgages with an (interest only ) 7 year assumable mortgage at 3 1/2% .

Require banks to automatically refinance all current mortgages at 31/2% interest for seven years and make them assumable .

They don't understand that a bank won't refinance at 100 percent.

In those locations, high market rental values allow banks to refinance loans at existing levels.

Six blocks south, on West 77th Street, officers of a 42-unit co-op have contacted 50 banks and thrift institutions to refinance an $880,000 mortgage to no avail.

The bank refinanced about $1 billion of the debt in 2005, recouping about half of that for the equity partners.

With plummeting values, the bank appraised their property at $80,000 and will refinance 70 percent of that amount.

With banks making new mortgages and refinancing old ones, many resident owners will probably be able to improve their financial situation significantly, Ms. Dunn said.

The mortgage is unassumable and the bank will not refinance properties less than 600 square feet.

Meanwhile, the company's primary banks will refinance roughly $7 billion of its bank debt.