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If any firm
claims they can stop your foreclosure
immediately if you sign a document
appointing them to act on your behalf,
you may well be signing over the title
to your property and becoming a renter
in your own home! Never sign a legal
document without reading and
understanding all the terms and getting
professional advice from an attorney, a
trusted real estate professional, or a
housing counselor.
ADVISORY!
Homeowners: Be
Informed About Foreclosure Consulting
Services
ADVISORY!
Don’t Fall for Bogus Loan Modification
Specialists!
FORECLOSURE ALERT
If your
property mortgage is delinquent and you
are facing foreclosure, you may be
contacted by a person or company willing
to take the property off your hands to
save your credit. While some of these
companies are actually good and do help,
others are not.
- Do
not sign anything that you do not
understand or that is blank. Go
through a reputable escrow company
to make sure that your mortgage(s)
is paid off to the satisfaction of
the lender(s). If you do not do
this, you may find that the person
or company has title to or owns your
property, yet the mortgage is still
in your name. The person or company
pays nothing to the mortgage(s)
holder. The foreclosure happens.
Your credit is ruined while the
company “saving” your credit has
made money from your property by
renting it until the foreclosure.
If you
think you’ve been a victim of this
fraud, contact Nevada Consumer Affairs
Division at (702) 486-7355 or (775)
688-1800.
Common Foreclosure Scams
-
Equity skimming:
A "buyer" approaches you, offering
to get you out of financial trouble
by promising to pay off your
mortgage or give you a sum of money
when the property is sold. The
"buyer" may suggest that you move
out quickly and deed the property to
him or her. The "buyer" then
collects rent for a time, does not
make any mortgage payments, and
allows the lender to foreclose.
Remember, signing over your deed to
someone else does not necessarily
relieve you of your obligation on
your loan.
-
Phantom help:
The "rescuer" charges outrageous
fees for light-duty phone calls or
paperwork that the homeowner could
easily do, none of which results in
saving the home. This predatory scam
gives homeowners a false sense of
hope and prevents them from seeking
qualified help.
-
The bailout:
In this scam, the homeowner is
deceived into signing over title
with the belief that he will be able
to remain in the house as a renter
and eventually buy it back over
time. The terms of these scams are
so onerous that the buy-back becomes
impossible, the homeowner loses
possession and the "rescuer" walks
off with most or all of the equity.
-
The bait-and-switch:
In this scam, the homeowners think
they are signing documents to bring
the mortgage current, but instead
actually surrender their ownership.
They usually don't even know they've
been scammed until they're evicted.
-
Phony counseling agencies.
Some groups calling themselves
"counseling agencies" may approach
you and offer to perform certain
services for a fee. These could well
be services you could do for
yourself for free, such as
negotiating a new payment plan with
your lender, or pursuing a
pre-foreclosure sale.
7 Ways to Avoid Foreclosure
Scams
Follow
these tips from the National Consumer
Law Center.
-
Don't panic. Get detailed
information about the deadlines you
face in resolving your problems. Pay
special attention to the date on
which you would lose legal right to
ownership.
-
Never sign a contract under
pressure. Take your time, and
consult a lawyer if possible.
-
Never sign away ownership via a
quitclaim deed or other means
without consulting a lawyer. Be
especially suspicious of offers to
lease back your home, in order to
buy it back over time. These offers
are weighted against you.
-
Never make your mortgage payments to
anyone other than your lender. If
you can't pay, do not ignore warning
letters from your lender; contact
them instead.
-
Beware of any home-sale contract in
which you are not formally released
from liability for your mortgage.
Make sure you know the rights you
are giving up and that you agree to
give them up.
-
Don't sign anything with blank lines
or spaces; information could be
added later without your knowledge
and consent.
-
If
you do not speak English, never use
a "rescuer's" translator. Instead,
insist on using your own translator.
Source:
http://www.hud.gov/foreclosure/index.cfm,
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/mortgages/20050728a1.asp,
and the National Consumer Law Center
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