If you are one of the millions of once-desperate homeowners who have had their loans reworked by a mortgage company to avoid foreclosure, it's time to start facing the possibility of having to do it all over again.

Beginning this year, those whose loan terms were modified so that the interest rate dropped to as low as 2 percent will have to deal with higher rates that could, in some cases, drive the monthly payment as much as $1,724 higher.

Why? Because "permanent" interest rate reductions under the government's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) were anything but. Whether participants realize it or not, rate reductions last for only five years. Consequently, the clock is ticking -- especially for the earliest beneficiaries of the program, which was built to help underwater or financially strapped borrowers save their homes.

Exactly how many borrowers face higher rates and larger payments is unclear.

As of Dec. 1, 2013, 88 percent of the nearly 900,000 people who had their loans modified under HAMP are scheduled for increases by 2021, according to a report from the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP). But a report from the Urban Institute, a research organization, says that as of this past January, more than 1.1 million owners received interest rate abatements under the program.

Moreover, countless others received modifications under lenders' proprietary relief programs that were patterned after HAMP, which was created under the Financial Stability Act of 2009 as a collaboration between lenders, investors, mortgage servicers and Uncle Sam's housing agencies to create standard loan modification guidelines.

The Urban Institute says the number of proprietary mods is "considerably higher" than the number of HAMP mods -- perhaps five times higher, or something above 5 million.

HAMP works like this: Lenders are required to take sequential steps -- called a "waterfall" -- to cut borrowers' monthly payments to 31 percent of their gross monthly incomes. After five years, the rate resets upward by up to 1 percent a year until it reaches its cap, which is the market rate that was in effect when the loan was modified.

All other terms of the modification -- an extended loan term and principal forbearance -- are supposed to remain unchanged.

For 2009 and 2010 modifications, the maximum rate is about 5 percent. So if the market rate was, say, 5 percent five years ago when your mortgage was reset to 2 percent, it will go up to 3 percent this year on the anniversary of the adjustment. It will remain at 3 percent for the following 12 months, then ratchet up to 4 percent for 12 months, and then up to 5 percent.

Market rates declined in 2011 and thereafter, so the total reset won't be as great for loans modified that year and thereafter. But the increase will still be 1 point per year until the market rate from the time of the modification is reached.

Reviews are mixed about the impact of the pending resets. The Urban Institute, for example, says most borrowers should be able to handle the first two jumps, but the third one "may prove problematical." Consequently, it argues that there won't be a big problem until 2016, when the 2009 cohort experiences its third increase in mortgage rates.

The nonprofit, nonpartisan policy research organization also thinks the fears of massive re-defaults are "overblown." Although borrower defaults in the private sector tend to jump by 15 percent when they are faced with large resets, that "should be regarded as an upper bound," it says.

Why? For one thing, HAMP resets will be taking place in a healthier housing market, with rising prices giving borrowers a growing equity stake in their homes. For another, perhaps half of HAMP recipients who are in danger of defaulting again should qualify for an alternative modification.

SIGTARP, the Treasury Department agency, says only 12 percent of the borrowers with active HAMP mods are safe. The rest are in for changes, with some eventually seeing their rates jump to as high as 5.4 percent and their monthly payments rise by $1,724. Half of all owners with active HAMP modifications reside in just four states: California, Florida, New York and Illinois.

And the number crunchers at Black Knight Financial Services point out that more than 40 percent of the 2 million borrowers who benefitted from modified loan rates still owe more than their houses are worth. Moreover, the data and analytics firm says an additional 18 percent have 9 percent equity or less in their homes. (Borrowers with less than a 10-percent stake in their properties usually must bring cash to the table to pay loan fees and closing costs.)

Under HAMP, loan servicers are required to notify borrowers of a pending rate increase no less than four months in advance. And a second notice is required no later than 60 days before the rate reset.

But borrowers shouldn't wait for the notice to act. If you have any inkling at all that a rate increase is coming, be proactive. Start gathering your financial information now.

You'll need, among other things, the two most recent pay stubs for all household members contributing to the mortgage payments, your last two years' tax returns, your most recent profit and loss statement if you are self-employed, your two most recent bank statements, account balances and minimum monthly payments due on all credit cards.

It's also a good idea to get current on your bills if you are not already, and check to make sure the info in your credit record is accurate and up-to-date. Then reach out to your lender to see what options might be available. You might be able to refinance, or you may be in line for another loan modification.

It's not unusual that a favorite light fixture does not remain in the house when it is sold. And every once in a while, a house will be listed with the special notation that certain outside plantings don't transfer.

But an entire kitchen?

Yes, according to a listing that caught Cindy Jones' eye recently. It was probably an error. Surely the listing agent meant that the seller would take certain kitchen appliances when they moved out, not the entire kitchen.

Maybe the sellers were from Europe, where it's practically unheard of to move into a place with a fully outfitted kitchen. That's why people from England, France, Italy and Germany buying a house in this country are pleasantly surprised when the kitchen is included.

In Germany, by law, sellers have to provide a stove and a sink, but nothing else. In France, all you need to leave is the sink. And in Italy, everything goes, nothing stays.

But that is there. This is here, which is why Jones, an independent real estate broker in Woodbridge, Virginia, found it so unusual. Especially since it is probably impossible to appraise a house without a kitchen. Or persuade a lender to give you a mortgage.

"How do you explain to the underwriter that the kitchen doesn't come with the house and expect to get a loan that includes the value of a kitchen?" she wrote in a recent post on ActiveRain.com, the wildly popular social network where real estate professionals hash over numerous topics.

As you might expect, Jones' comments sparked a lively discussion among her fellow agents.

Lenn Harley, another broker who serves the Washington area at Homefinders.com, reported that she had a sale once in which the seller took down a crystal chandelier before closing. Fortunately, her buyers noticed the switch during their pre-closing walk-through and asked for -- and received -- a $2,500 credit for the missing fixture.

Tom White of the TW Realty Group in Franklin, Tennessee, had a similar experience recently, in which there was "quite a big deal over a sentimental light fixture." The seller told the buyer that he would replace it with a new fixture. No problem -- "until my buyer saw it was a $79 fixture from Home Depot replacing the $600 fixture that had been there," Alexander said.

Many of the ActiveRainers commented that they have been involved in deals in which sellers wanted to take certain plants with them when they moved out.

Joan Whitebook of Better Homes and Gardens' Masiello Group in Nashua, New Hampshire, had one in which the sellers wanted to keep a Japanese maple -- but it could only be removed during a certain time of the year. And Inna Ivchenko of the Mannis Real Estate Group in Calabasas, California, is currently selling a place for someone who intends to dig up some plants, trees and a backyard brick walkway because "it has some sentimental memories for her."

Chris Griffith of Downing-Frye Realty in Bonita Springs, Florida, has a listing with a "raggedy old" grapefruit tree that will be removed because it was planted by the seller's grandchildren. And Michael O'Connor of Diamond Ridge Realty in Corona, California, listed a house for a seller who intended to take "some select rose bushes" from the front of the house that were a gift from her grandmother.

Beyond appliances, chandeliers and plants, however, sellers sometimes have more unusual requirements.

Sonsie Conroy of Century 21 Hometown Realty in San Luis Obispo, California, once bought a fixer-upper in which the contract allowed the seller to return to harvest his strawberry patch. Also, Conroy was required to guard the seller's piano until he could find someone to move it.

Mark Arlow of Keller Williams in Savannah, Georgia, had a client who wanted to take the front door. Turns out, it was the door to the family farm where they grew up. "When they sold the farm, they kept the front door as a reminder of the farm, and now the door goes with them wherever they go," Arlow said.

Mark Neighbor, a home inspector in Mcdonough, Georgia, had a seller who waltzed into his former house a month after closing to remove a showerhead. And Terry McCarley of Right Choice Realty in Cape Coral, Florida, knows of a fellow who doesn't cook, so he ripped out the kitchen after he moved in and turned it into a recreation room with a pool table. "The only appliance he put in was a refrigerator for his cold drinks," said McCarley. The lack of a kitchen will surely be a shock to potential buyers down the line, but at least they'll know what they're getting -- or not getting -- upfront.

Weirder yet is when a pet becomes part of the deal. "Some of the greatest counter-offers are when a loved -- or sometimes hated -- animal is used as a negotiating point," commented Brad Thomsen of Century 21 Real Estate Center in Lynnwood, Washington. Some sellers think that moving will be too disruptive for their furry or feathered friends, and try to dictate that the pet stays with the house. "Nothing gets things moving faster than to counter with a demand about a favorite pet," says Thomsen.

Or how about the deal that almost wasn't because of a flagpole? "When the buyers did the final walk-through and saw it was missing from out front, they asked, 'Where the hell is my flagpole?'" wrote Paul David Hiebing of Grampp Realty in Bettendorf, Iowa. "It may sound funny, but the deal almost fell apart at closing over a $500 flagpole."

And Kathy Cashmore of Real Estate by Hamwey in Billings, Montana, just closed on a house where the seller crawled all the way up to the peak of the roof and took the weathervane. "Of course, the buyer noticed immediately," she says.

Buyers don't miss much -- not when it's their money on the line. If you want to take something with you, it's always best to take it down, replace it and pack it away before you even put your place on the market. "It saves time and possibly a misunderstanding later on," says Jones, the Virginia broker who started this conversation.

Actually, it's just good business. The rule of thumb regarding fixtures is that if it is attached to the house or property, it stays. So curtains can go, for example, but curtain rods stay.

"When a seller starts keeping things that should stay with the house, I guarantee that the contract negotiations will be painful," says Eve Alexander of Windermere Real Estate in Orlando, Florida.

Homebuyers can search for properties with any number of characteristics: the number of bedrooms, for example, or the number of baths. You can even search for such items as fireplaces, garages and first-floor master suites.

But when it comes to features that make a home green -- Energy Star-rated appliances, geothermal heat pumps, solar heating, low-flow toilets or other energy-related attributes -- buyers in most places usually draw a blank. The only place to find them is in the descriptive portion of the listing, if they are mentioned at all. Consequently, buyers who have an interest in these green features have to read the narrative attached to each house that meets some of their other search criteria to determine if the place also has the green items they desire.

Hopefully, that's about to change. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has just published a comprehensive guide for helping multiple list services (MLSs) promote the special features of a green home -- attributes that, research indicates, buyers covet.

In Chicago, the local MLS was one of the pioneers in helping sellers promote their green features and helping buyers find them. A preliminary read of recent data from that city found that the 10 percent of the sellers who chose to list their energy costs sold their homes faster and at higher prices than other sellers.

And NAR's most recent Profile of Buyers and Sellers found that the environmental factors most important to buyers are those that directly impact their pocketbooks. Heating and cooling costs, for example, were at least "somewhat important" to 85 percent of buyers; 36 percent said fuel costs were "very important."

At the same time, two-thirds rated both energy-efficient appliances and lighting as "very" or "somewhat" important. And nearly half said the same about landscaping for energy conservation.

"The demand for green is growing," says NAR President Steve Brown, a broker in Dayton, Ohio. "NAR's research consistently shows that today's consumers want homes and communities that are environmentally sustainable and resource-efficient."

Still, at last official count in 2010, only 125 of the country's MLSs -- just "a handful," according to the new guide -- offered specific fields for green or high-performance homes. Now, NAR claims, 79 percent of the 100 most populous metropolitan areas have access to an MLS with green fields.

But adoption has been slow, according to two members of NAR's MLS committee.

"I think consumers are ahead of us," says Lauren Hansen, MLS committee member and CEO of Information and Real Estate Services (IRES), the regional MLS for northern Colorado.

IRES was the first MLS in the land to add green search fields, but it had to be dragged into offering them by the state, which required every MLS within its borders to do so.

At first, says Hansen, "I rolled my eyes" at the requirement. "But as it turned out, it took us to school." Now, would-be buyers can search not just by energy features but also by third-party certifications that confirm claimed energy savings, or confirm the existence of features like upgraded insulation.

Prior to the housing market meltdown, Jeff Lasky -- another MLS committee member and director of communications and training at Midwest Real Estate Data, the MLS for the Chicago area -- agreed with Hansen that agents were too busy listing and selling houses to worry too much about energy efficiency. But when the market slowed to a crawl, they started to pay closer attention.

"When things slowed down and inventory shrunk," says Lasky, "agents were forced into thinking outside the box if they wanted to obtain a listing. There was also a concern about liability. ... Like anything new, it takes some time."

"It's like a roller coaster that's still going uphill," agrees Hansen about the green listing movement.

Now, the coaster is approaching the top of the hill. And with the help of the new NAR guide, energy features should soon become standard protocol for every MLS in the country. "Accurate marketing and assessment of green homes can only move forward with more standardized language among MLSs," says NAR president Brown.

The guide is designed to provide a blueprint for MLS staff, or their software venders, to populate the listing service with green data-entry fields. If the MLS does not yet include these fields, the guide offers a step-by-step method for adding them. And if the MLS already offers such fields, the book will show them how to standardize their entries.

The new standardized green fields will also allow for apples-to-apples comparisons when appraising green homes and determining such market trends as time on the market and sales-to-list price ratios.

Of course, the real estate community has a stake in the information beyond helping sellers find buyers and helping buyers find properties. In that regard, the guide will help protect agents, appraisers and other users from liability for posting incorrect or unverifiable information based on claims made by overzealous sellers -- a practice known as "greenwashing."