The likelihood of losing your home to foreclosure can be scary. The reality that scam artists are preying on the vulnerability of desperate homeowners is about as frightening as sites like The Rich Janitor which are nearly as bad. Many so-called foreclosure rescue companies or foreclosure assistance firms claim they can help you save your home. Some are brazen enough to supply a refund promise. Unfortunately, once most of these foreclosure fraudsters take your funds in their money making scams, they leave you much the worse for wear.
Fraudulent foreclosure rescue execs use half truths and complete lies to sell services that promise relief and then fail to deliver. Their goal is to make a fast profit thru charges or home loan payments they collect from you, but don't pass on to the bank. Sometimes, they take ownership of your property by cheating you, the homeowner. Then, when it is too late to save your home, they take the property or siphon off the equity. You've lost your home to foreclosure despite your best intentions.
If you believe that you could be facing repossession, the federal trade commission ( FTC ), the country's consumer protection agency, wants you to understand how to recognise a foreclosure rescue scam. And whether or not the foreclosure process has already begun, the FTC and its law enforcement partners need you to know that valid options are available to help save your home.
the way in which the tricks Work
Foreclosure rescue firms use a range of strategies to find householders in distress: Some sieve through public foreclosure notices in newspapers and on the internet or thru public files at local presidency offices, and then send personalized letters to householders. Others take a broader approach thru adverts online, on television, or in the newspaper, posters on telephone poles, median strips and at bus stops, or flyers or business cards at your front door. The trick artists use simple and straight-forward messages, like:
Prevent Being Foreclosed Now!
We guarantee to prevent your foreclosure.
Keep your home. We all know your house is booked to be sold. Guaranteed!
We have special relationships within many banks that can speed up case approvals.
We can Save your home. Guaranteed. Free Consultation
We stop repos each day. Our team of pros can stop yours this week!
Once they have your attention, they use a range of methods to get your cash:
fake analysis or phantom Help
The conman tells you that he will barter a deal with your lender to save your place if you pay a fee first. You may be told not to get in touch with your bank, barrister, or credit advisor, and to let the scam artist handle all the details. Once you pay the charge, the scam artist takes off with your cash.
Sometimes, the trick artist insists that you make all mortgage payments directly to him while he barters with the lender. In this example, the scammer may collect 1 or 2 months of payments before disappearing.
Bait-and-Switch
You suspect you're signing documents for a new loan to make your existing mortgage current. This is a trick : you've signed documents that surrender the title of your house to the scam artist in return for a rescue loan.
Rent-to-Buy Scheme
You're told to surrender the title as a part of a deal that permits you to remain in your home as a renter, and to purchase it back during the following few years. You may be told that surrendering the title will permit a borrower with a better credit history to secure new financing and forestall the loss of the home. But the provisions of these deals usually are so tiring that repurchasing your home becomes very unlikely. You lose the home, and the scam artist walks off with all of your home's equity. Worse yet, when the new debtor defaults on the loan, you are expelled.
In a difference, the con artist raises the rent over time to the point that the previous homeowner can't justify the price. After missing several lease payments, the renter the former home-owner is expelled, leaving the rescuer free to sell the house.
In an identical equity-skimming situation, the sting artist offers to get a purchaser for your home, but only if you sign over the deed and move out. The scam artist promises to pay you a little of the profit when the home sells. Once you transfer the deed, the swindle artist simply hires out the home and pockets the returns while your bank proceeds with the foreclosure. In the end, you lose your place and you are still answerable for the unpaid mortgage. That is because transferring the deed does zip to transfer your home loan requirement.