ELKHART — It's an industry first in Indiana: lose your job, and your Realtor will make your mortgage payment for you. The question now: will it help turn the local housing market around?

It's called "H.E.L.P."--short for Homeowner Education and Loan Protection, and its concept is fairly simple. Buyers who enroll in the program will be eligible for 6 months worth of mortgage payments in the event that they involuntarily lose their job.

Agents and brokers from Elkhart based Century 21 Landmark Realty Group unveiled the idea this week, and claim they are among the first in the nation to offer it.

They hope the new "mortgage payment protection plan" will help stop uncertainty from controlling the local housing market.

They're not alone.

Michelle Markel hopes so, too.

Last year, she and her family decided to fulfill a lifelong dream.

"We actually decided we would like to move out into the country, get some acreage, have horses and animals," Markel said, standing in the living room of her Northeast Elkhart home.

"But, not until we sell this," she continued. "We are not doing the two house payment thing, that's for sure."

The problem is, they're not doing the "one house selling" thing either.

"It's been on the market now for 1 year, almost exactly," Markel said with a sigh of frustration. "We've had lots of people come through and say 'we love this house. It's our favorite.' But, no offers."

That's despite a drop of nearly $30,000 in the Markel's asking price.

At first, the slow sales process was no big deal. After all, the "big dream" could be put on hold for the right price.

But now, with her husband's job at Forest River now dependent on a less than reliable RV industry, she's beginning to hear the clock ticking.

"Things are a little iffy right now," Markel said. "After a year, I'm a little tired of it. And, it sure would be peace of mind to have this behind us. That's something I haven't felt in a lot of time."

Enter the Markel's real estate agent at Landmark, who offered some "H.E.L.P."

"We decided to do something proactive to stimulate the market and minimize risk," said Century 21 Landmark Broker Steve Eldridge.

Quite simply, Landmark is offering to take on that risk themselves.

"It basically says, if anybody gets laid off in the first 24 months, they've got $10,800--up to that amount--being paid towards the mortgage payments," Eldridge said.

Sound familiar?

It should.

Car maker Hyundai unveiled an offer in January to take back vehicles without penalties from buyers who lost their job and couldn't make their monthly payment.

GM and Ford recently took the concept even further.

GM will now make 9 payments of up to $500 for any car owner who loses their job during the first 24 months of ownership. Ford will pay up to $700 on any new Ford, Lincoln or Mercury for any car owner who becomes unemployed during the first 12 months of ownership.

In each case, there are a laundry list restrictions that must be met to qualify for the payment protection.

But, experts say the unique marketing moves have helped spark double digit sales increases.

So, will the same concept work in the real estate market?

Some aren't convinced quite yet.

"It's one thing for cars. It's another thing for houses," said Indiana University-South Bend Marketing Professor Dr. Anurag Pant.

"The installment on houses is much more. The length of the loan is much longer. I don't think that strategy will work," he continued.

The main problem, Dr. Pant says, is time.

"For a house payment over 6 months, there's no guarantee you're going to get your job back. And, the housing market is very slow, so there's no guarantee you'll be able to sell it either. I believe you're looking at at least a year's support needed--or more--before it can get serious about that," he said.

There are also loads of restrictions for the "H.E.L.P." plan, too.

To qualify, buyers must become unemployed within 2 years from the closing date of the mortgage, and must have been employed a minimum of 30 hours per week before losing their job.

Buyers must be between the ages of 18 and 66, and are not "vested" in the "H.E.L.P." coverage for 60 days from their mortgage closing date. They also cannot be self-employed, and must wait 30 days after losing their job before they can make a claim.

There is also a one-time, $500 enrollment fee, to be paid upfront at the time of the home's purchase.

But, Dr. Pant doesn't think that will be a deal breaker for most buyers.

"I don't think the fee is the issue here. If somebody's buying a $200,000 house, they're probably not going to balk at $500," he said.

"We believe the seller will more than likely be willing to pay the $500 in most cases," agreed Eldridge.

But, fee or not, will the program help turn the local real estate market around?

"It certainly will give Century 21 a competitive edge, and perhaps a larger share of the market. But, I don't know that it will turn things around," said Dr. Pant.

"Those who are already in the market for buying a house, this might allow them to do so with a little more gusto, let's put it. They might go out on a limb and buy a little higher priced home, or negotiate a little bit less. And those nuances will help Century 21. But, people who are still staying away from the market because of insecurities? I don't think this will go far enough to get them to overcome those insecurities," Pant continued.

But, Eldridge says that's not what it's intended to do.

"This is a sort of additional insurance policy on a home. Buyers have been very apprehensive over the last 18 months. With this program, we feel we're taking some of that apprehension away, giving them an opportunity to minimize their risk, step forward, and take action," he said.

Then, pausing for a moment, he continued.

"It's obviously not a 100% cure-all. But, it's going to take a lot of people off the fence," Eldridge said.

Markel hopes some of them might land on her doorstep.

"As soon as I heard about it, my first thought was--I want to offer that on my house. Because, I think some people are just trigger shy and aren't ready to make that decision yet with so many uncertainties out there," she said.

Then, pausing for a moment, she smiled.

"This is something new," she said. "Maybe somebody will bite."