Protect Yourself Against These Foreclosure Scams

If youre one of the millions of homeowners or property investors who is in danger of foreclosure

, the last thing you need is to fall victim to a scam that causes unnecessary loss and suffering.

Scammers are smart in their goal to get your money, your house, or both. They can look like very legitimate experts or companies. In fact, one company that was recently caught and indicted for scamming homeowners spent $7 million on advertising to lure unsuspecting or unaware victims.

Most of the time, its hard to recognize or see through a scam. Even savvy people can get strung along in scams until its too late. Fighting these people in a legal battle causes even more stress.

What are the telltale signs that someone is trying to take advantage of you?

1.Youre being asked for money upfront for loan modification or other help with your mortgage - whether its half or the total cost of the service

2.Youre being asked NOT to contact your mortgage lender while you work with this company

3.They say they can sell your house for you

What types of scams are on the rise today?

Phony Counseling and Negotiation: You may be contacted by a person or company that claims they can work with your lender and negotiate to save your home. Beware if the service involves an upfront fee, such as $395 or equal to one months mortgage.

Rent-To-Buy: A major red flag should come up if anyone tells you that you can stay in your home while they work with your lender to catch you up on missed payments, modify your loan, or try to get an investor to hold the property until youre able to buy it back. Dont EVER sign over the deed to your house to someone promising mortgage help.

Equity Skimming: this is similar to the Rent-to-Buy scam above but with a nasty ending. A person or company, in exchange for the title (ownership) to your house, will catch up your missed loan payments and then make your monthly payments for you. This, they promise, will allow the homeowner to stay in the house, make some kind of rent payment (which goes right into their pocket) until their situation improves to where they can buy the house back from this person or company. However, soon after the completion of this transaction you (the tenant) are given a 30-day eviction notice, the house is put up for sale and eventually the scammer walks away with all the money (equity).

There are many more scams you need to be aware of and avoid when youre trying to work out a solution to avoid foreclosure.

For more information on scams and what to do, and to learn how to survive your foreclosure or avoid it altogether, go to www.surviveyourforeclosure.com

by: Elin M Bullmann

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