Restrictions in a homeowner rescue plan proposed by Sen. John McCain would likely block thousands of struggling Sacramento-area borrowers from participating, analysts say.

McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, made his proposal in Tuesday night's presidential debate but offered few specifics. He called for spending up to $300 billion in government funds to buy risky adjustable-rate mortgages from people who owe more than their homes are worth. The government would then refinance those borrowers into new fixed-rate 30-year loans to reflect their homes' current value.

The proposal would exclude borrowers who used 100 percent financing during the housing boom and possibly all who received loans without documenting their incomes. It also prohibits investors.

In the Sacramento area, such restrictions will rule out massive numbers of borrowers who need help, some said Wednesday.

"I would say there's not going to be a lot of homes in that basket," said Scott Thompson, partner at Mortgage Resolution Services in Carmichael.

Since January 2007, more than 21,000 borrowers have lost homes to the banks in Amador, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties, according to MDA DataQuick.

"Many who did 100 percent financing and stated-income loans are already wiped out," said Jeff Tarbell, managing partner of Sacramento-based Comstock Mortgage.

McCain's campaign Web site offered a brief outline of the plan on Wednesday. But sparse details about who is eligible left some analysts unsure what it means and whether it would help slow a rising foreclosure rate.

"It sounds like another program with a huge amount of dollars, and I don't know what the direct effect would be on homeowners who are losing their homes," said Pam Canada, executive director of the Sacramento credit counseling firm NeighborWorks HomeOwnership Center.

A McCain campaign spokesman did not provide details in response to a request from The Bee.

McCain's American Homeowners Resurgence Plan is similar to a proposal floated by R. Glenn Hubbard, dean of the Columbia Business School, and Chris Mayer, a professor of finance and economics at the school. They suggested refinancing struggling homeowners to stop the foreclosures that have continued to pull down home values.

In September, Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, suggested a similar plan.

McCain's call for forbidding help to borrowers who bought homes without making a down payment could limit its impact throughout California.

Research by the California Association of Realtors shows that one-third of California's first-time buyers in 2004 and 2005 – and 41 percent of those who bought homes in 2006 – made no down payments.

The proposal also specifically excludes people who lied about their incomes on mortgage applications, but it was unclear Wednesday how that would be determined. Many borrowers have charged that lenders inflated their incomes to make loan deals work.

"There are some people who purposely falsified their own information, but there is also that percentage that are victims," Canada said.

The home rescue plan comes days after Bank of America agreed to rewrite $8.7 billion worth of loans for 400,000 homeowners whose mortgages were originated by Countrywide Financial Corp. The agreement, which could help up to 125,000 Californians, came in response to lawsuits by several state attorneys general alleging fraud by BofA affiliate Countrywide.

Call The Bee's Jim Wasserman, (916) 321-1102. Read his blog on real estate, Home Front, at www.sacbee.com/blogs.