PHOENIX -- Struggling homeowners applying for loan modifications from their banks receive more costly “repayment” plans instead, according to a Valley mortgage expert.

"I would say probably 5 to 10 percent of those homeowners are resulting in an equal or higher payment,” said Kevin Hardin, director of the Mortgage Mediation Group at Thomson Conant PLC.

Nationwide, 60 percent of homeowners who ask for lower payments end up with the same or higher monthly payment, he said.

Hardin said banks who service mortgage loans have little incentive to help homeowners by modifying their payments.

“Loan servicers get paid late fees, loan servicers get reimbursed for old charges that aren't paid, servicers get reimbursed for all foreclosures costs,” he said. “But servicers don't get paid for loan modifications.“

Mesa homeowner Vanessa Gonzalez now owes $300 more a month on her mortgage after asking Bank of America to lower her payment.

"I thought it was a joke at first,” she said.

The bank tacked late fees, interest, and her missed payments onto the end of her loan and re-calculated the higher monthly payment.

"It's heartbreaking,” she said. “We want to stay in our home. I don't want to foreclose; I don't want to walk away. I want to stay where we are.”

Hardin said what happened to Gonzalez is not uncommon.

Homeowners in her situation can re-apply for a loan modification, but for many, the best option is often to sell their homes through short sale.