WATERLOO - Waterloo's GMAC Mortgage office plans to expand its work force by about 250 people by July to help "distressed homeowners" keep their houses.

The office currently employs 740 people and officials there plan to bring that number up to between 900 to 950 people at the end of the first half of the year.

So far, more than 60 have been hired.

Under the $275 billion Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan signed into law by President Obama last week, homeowners who may not have been eligible to refinance can now do so.

Helping borrowers keep their homes will not only benefit the homeowners who have fallen behind but also lenders, said Steve Sesterhenn, Human Resources director at the Waterloo GMAC Mortgage office.

"The bottom line is we don't want to own their homes," he said.

The plan encourages lenders to work with people to keep their homes. The plan creates incentives for lenders to restructure mortgages for people who have fallen behind and gives some financial backing to major lenders.

The plan addresses plummeting property values that have prevented borrowers from building enough equity in their homes to qualify for refinancing.

Although the jobs are spurred because of needs that arose from the economic downturn, Sesterhenn, said they will likely be permanent.

"We don't see these as temporary jobs as things change," he said. When the housing market rebounds, new employees can move to provide service for new lenders and new loans, Sesterhenn added.

At a time when layoffs dominate headlines, the hiring push offers some welcome good news.

"With every bad there can also come some good," Sesterhenn said.

The hiring increase is also taking place at GMAC and other lending offices across the country. In some areas, applications are flooding in, the relatively low unemployment rate in the Cedar Valley is slowing the recruiting effort locally.

"There's less of a pool to draw from here," Sesterhenn said.

Steve Dust, president of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance, said the low unemployment could entice people from other areas with high unemployment to relocate here.

"There's enough being hired that it's going to be a draw for people with qualifying skills from other major metropolitan areas," he said.

Sesterhenn said efforts to recruit employees will continue. Employees need about two months of training before they handle calls on their own, he said.

Contact John Molseed at (319) 291-1418 or john.molseed@wcfcourier.com