When you’re facing foreclosure, you may find yourself targeted by many people who claim they have a solution to avoid foreclosure. Unfortunately, facing foreclosure gives rise to schemes and scammers that try to take advantage of homeowners going through foreclosure.
Every year, unsuspecting homeowners fall for foreclosure frauds and foreclosure rescue scams. These frauds make promises that seem almost too good to be true. Most of the time, they are.
Don’t lose your home or the chance of saving your home to foreclosure fraud. With the right knowledge and help from a foreclosure defense attorney, you can avoid these scams and take the right steps toward saving your home from foreclosure.
The attorneys at Denbeaux & Denbeaux Law have experience identifying and saving homeowners from potential foreclosure scams that pose a threat. We offer free consultations to help you understand your rights as a homeowner so you don’t get scammed by people just trying to take advantage of your situation.
Common Frauds In Foreclosure
Foreclosure scammers are well known for preying on innocent homeowners going through foreclosure by appealing to their emotions and offering phony solutions to their problems that may actually harm their chances of saving their homes. To avoid mortgage foreclosure fraud, you need to know what scams to look out for.
Equity stripping
Equity stripping is a type of foreclosure rescue scheme that takes advantage of homeowners who have little financial resources or information. An investor will purchase the home from a homeowner going through foreclosure and then lease or rent the home back to the owner. What the investor doesn’t tell the homeowner is that this scheme is actually stripping the equity from their home. Often the company who is “saving” your home may even end up selling your home to someone else, leaving you without a home or homeowners rights in your property.
Fake counseling agencies
This is a type of mortgage fraud where scam artists claim they can negotiate your loan with your mortgage lender and require either an upfront fee or monthly payments. However, the fake counseling agency will run off once they receive the money, leaving the homeowner further behind on their mortgage loan payments and with less money to fix the situation.
Debt-elimination
Try to avoid scammers that claim they can eliminate your mortgage loan debt. These illegal schemes trick homeowners into thinking they can get rid of debt by creating fake documents and procedures that seem authentic while charging an upfront fee.
Loan flipping
Loan flipping is a very common form of predatory practice often performed by lenders. This happens when a lender convinces a homeowner to get a new loan with them. While the homeowner may initially receive some extra money from this new loan, over time, the loan becomes bogged down with a higher interest rate, excessive fees, and late penalties. Eventually, homeowners could end up in the same situation they were in before, if not worse.
Phony government programs
This scam aims to make homeowners think they are being contacted and approved by the federal government for a loan modification program. Scam artists will make fake websites or contact homeowners posing as the federal government. These scams are easy to fall for because the scam artist will use names associated with official government programs.
Foreclosure Rescue Fraud
These are fraudulent schemes that claim they’re going to help rescue you from foreclosure. Foreclosure rescue fraud schemes could also ask you to sign over the title of your home.
They may promise to pay off your delinquency and let you repurchase your home once your financial situation improves. This is never a good choice. Once you’ve signed over the title, you are no longer the owner of your home, and you lose your rights to be in the home. Also, the company will not have to hold up to their word that they will let you stay in the home or repurchase it at any point in the future.
What To Do About Foreclosure Fraud
When faced with foreclosure fraud, you have a few options available to you. You can report the fraud to law enforcement and the Federal Trade Commission. Doing so will help authorities identify foreclosure fraud and hopefully put a stop to it so that it doesn’t happen to other homeowners going through foreclosure.
Know your rights. Homeowners have certain rights in foreclosure, granted by federal law and state law, in some cases. Knowing your rights can help you protect yourself and your family from potential fraud.
If you have faced a foreclosure scam or want to know more about your rights as a homeowner going through foreclosure, you should contact a foreclosure defense attorney. Not only are attorneys liable for the advice they give, but they must also meet ethics requirements to maintain their license, overseen by a Bar Association. You can have peace of mind knowing you’re getting advice from an experienced foreclosure attorney and avoid being taken advantage of by scammers.
Don’t wait until it’s too late. Speak with an experienced attorney to see what you can do to avoid or stop foreclosure fraud.
Mortgage Fraud Protection
The easiest way to protect yourself from mortgage fraud is to educate yourself on the foreclosure process as much as possible. Knowing even a little bit about the foreclosure process can help you understand what to expect and make you better able to identify fraud.
When it comes to your home, it’s important always to be suspicious. You should be sure to do your own research and review all of your contracts carefully so you know what you’re obligated to do. Your lender may seem like a friendly ally, but it’s important that you’re also suspicious of them. Banks aren’t on your side, they are on the side of getting the money they are owed, and if that means taking your home, they won’t necessarily be helpful or trustworthy.
One of the most reliable mortgage fraud prevention tactics is to consult with an attorney. Experienced foreclosure attorneys have more knowledge of foreclosure proceedings and foreclosure fraud tactics than the average person and can help advise you on the best course of action for your specific situation.
Contact A Foreclosure Attorney Today
It’s easy to fall for foreclosure schemes and scammers when you don’t know who’s trying to help and who’s just trying to take your money. With Denbeaux & Denbeaux Law, you can rest assured that we have your best interest in mind.
We know that the foreclosure process can be hard to navigate, especially when trying to avoid scams that could be harmful to you and your family. Our New Jersey law firm helps homeowners going through foreclosure, so you don’t have to do it alone.
Contact us today for a free phone consultation and learn more about how a foreclosure defense attorney like Joshua Denbeaux may be able to save you from predatory foreclosure fraud.
