Beware of Loan Modification Advance Fee Scams

Posts Tagged ‘mortgage modification’

Beware of Loan Modification Advance Fee Scams

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Nowadays it seems like you can’t trust anybody, not even a law firm promising to help you obtain a loan modification. A California law firm guaranteed that Terrie Geiler would get a loan modification from her bank in 3 to 6 months. The law firm, 1st American Law Center did nothing more than dupe the homeowner who was facing foreclosure out of a $3,000 upfront fee. 1st American Law was eventually raided and subsequently shut down by the FBI for running what is known as a loan modification advance fee scam. If you were a victim of 1st American Law Center here is a link to some advice on what you should do posted to the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions Website.

Have You Done Business With LoanModificationsFast.com?

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Author: The Money Coach

LoanModificationsFast matches people behind on their mortgage with service providers who can help them keep their home by modifying their existing loan. They claim to have helped over 100,000 consumers nationwide via their web site. Please post feedback on this company using the comment box at the bottom of this post.

Behind on Your Mortgage? LOAN MODIFICATION experts are standing by to re-do your existing loan.

What to do if you can’t afford your mortgage even after a loan modification? (askthemoneycoach.com)
2,500 Homeowners Put In Foreclosure While Awaiting Mortgage Modifications: Attorneys (huffingtonpost.com)
CitiMortgage Offers Assistance to Troubled Borrowers by Hosting Call-A-Thon (askamoneyexpert.com)

Foreclosure Rescue Scams: How to Recognize Bogus Mortgage Help

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Author: The Money Coach

Despite the bona fide assistance out there, it’s harder than ever for many consumers to separate trustworthy foreclosure assistance companies from the bogus ones. And with unemployment and mortgage delinquencies remaining stubbornly high, con artists from coast to coast are increasingly preying upon Americans going through hard economic times.

This year, for instance, officials in California indicted two San Diego men on charges of illegally collecting $900,000 from desperate homeowners looking to avoid foreclosure. Authorities said the men billed people $2,500 to $3,000 for loan modification services, then did nothing.

The duo made their operation appear official by pretending that their offices were located near the White House, and sending out letters marked with the seal of the U.S. Capitol. They also claimed that they had forensic accountants and lawyers on staff. In reality, the two men worked out of Southern California and had no accountants or attorneys on the payroll.

Meanwhile, in New York, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo recently sued two loan modification companies, and shut down two other foreclosure rescue firms for alleged illegal practices.

Red Flags on a Foreclosure Rescue Scam

As mentioned, there are some surefire ways to spot a fraudulent – or potentially bogus – mortgage modification or foreclosure rescue offer.

According to Loan Scam Alert (a national program from NeighborWorks which is designed to help homeowners avoid scams and report them), here are six red flags that indicate you may be dealing with a scammer. Read the rest of this article on Housingwatch

What to do if you can’t afford your mortgage even after a loan modification?

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Author: The Money Coach

Lynnette gives answers to the following subscriber questions:

What should I do if I still can’t afford my mortgage even after a loan modification?
What are the best “emergency” credit cards to carry?
How do I check out a debt counseling firm to make sure they are legit?

Click here to send us your question.

Ask The Money Coach

Posts Tagged ‘mortgage modification’