It's only been a day, but the federal bailout of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac seems to be working. Some local lenders have already lowered their mortgage rates.

When the housing bubble burst, prices dropped and left a lot of people in the uncomfortable position of owing more on their home than its worth.

Greg McBride with Bankrate.com says unless you need to sell soon or refinance to make your mortgage payments, there's nothing to work about.

It's good news for those who want to buy a home, sell a home or refinance their current mortgage.

One financial expert I spoke with calls the federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac "a big win" for mortgage buyers. And here's why. It will encourage banks to make more home loans, and it will drive down the rates on those loans.

This should get buyers back into the market and make it easier for people to refinance their current loans.

I shopped rates on Monday, and I've got to tell you, I was surprised at what we found. Rates are already down.

First, the national picture. According to Bankrate.com, the average 30-year fixed-rate conforming loan was 6.26 percent last week. Today it's 6.08 percent. But if you have good credit, you may be able to do better than that.

Locally, Homestreet Bank dropped the rate on its 30-year fixed loan by half a point to around 5.75 percent APR.

All of this is good news for the housing market, but it doesn't do much good for someone who is financially upside-down in their home.

"If you're planning on being in the home for the long hall, the likelihood is that the situation will likely reverse itself when the housing market stabilizes and as you continue to chip away at that mortgage balance. So in that case, there's really nothing to worry about," McBride said.

If you must sell and you're upside down with your loan, you might want to try what's called a short sale.

"A short sale is where your lender agrees to let you sell the house for less than is owed on it and they will not pursue you for the difference," said McBride.

And believe it or not, lenders will do this.

"Short sales are particularly in vogue right now because lenders are looking at it as a way to avoid further foreclosures," said McBride.

Bankrate says most lenders won't consider a short sale unless you are far behind in your payment or in default.

If you do this, you won't get a penny fro, the sale and it will probably damage your credit history, but not as badly as a foreclosure would. So it's one of those last resort options.

And if you have a fixed-rate loan, nothing the feds did over the weekend changes your situation. For you, everything remains the same unless you have a high rate and take this opportunity to refinance.

More information:

10 crucial steps to 'short sale' buying