Foreclosure Rescue Scams Exposed

The Dirty Dozen –#1 of the 12 Most Common Foreclosure Scams

The foreclosure rescue professional you are about to hire may be legitimate, or he could be a con man who is out to take you for as much money as possible – maybe even your home. All the while the clock is counting down to foreclosure, and you could be losing valuable time.

Victims of foreclosure scams not only lose their homes, but many also lose a fortune in equity and their good credit as well. A foreclosure will stay on your credit report for seven years. A bankruptcy will stay on your credit report for ten years.

Here is the first one of twelve favorite cons of today's foreclosure rescue scam artists. Some of the scams overlap, having similarities but with a twist here and there.

Scam #1) Love 'em and Leave 'em

This particular con is difficult to catch onto at first because the "expert" can show you proof of work he has done. He seems very busy, hard-working, and legit. He takes action such as making phone calls or filing paperwork with your lender.

The truth is that these measures are simple. They could easily be performed by the homeowner himself at no cost. Sometimes, the fraudster will give you a list of all the info and documents he needs, you do all the work, and all he is doing is faxing it over to your lender. Essentially, you are paying him hefty fees for supplying you with "to-do" lists, and you are doing all the grunt work. In this situation, you have to ask yourself, "Who is working for whom?"

He may even have "attorneys" that file court papers to "stop" your foreclosure. But filing a pleading is only a partial measure. There are many other actions that must follow. And the pleading only delays the foreclosure. It does not stop it. A scammer won't tell you that, though. They lead you to believe that simply by filing the papers, they have done their job. Truthfully, they haven't "saved" anyone at this point.

In this scenario and others as well, the con man (or woman) charges hefty up-front fees and "guarantees" his services.

He will tell you that because he has the inside track with the lender, he can negotiate a better deal than you could on your own. He will tell you to leave the lender to him and not to even worry about communicating with you lender now that he is on the job. Sounds good doesn't it? Don't you just love this guy?

As the days progress, his contact with you is less and less frequent. The flurry of activity that you saw in the beginning has all but stopped. When you call him, you may get an assistant or a secretary that says your "representative" is working hard on your case and cannot come to the phone. You may be starting to worry a bit.

Eventually, your calls go unanswered altogether. After awhile, you realize that your "angel" has pocketed your hard earned money and disappeared. And it hits you that you have lost valuable time and may not have any opportunity left to save your home.

Red flags to look for:

• Anyone asking for payment (even partial payment) of their fee before they start work on your case.

• Anyone advising that you not speak with your lender while they are handling your case.

• At anytime during the process, the representative stops returning your calls.

Things to keep in mind:

• Never pay anyone an up-front fee for foreclosure counseling (discussed later) or for negotiation with your lender.

• Never cut off communication with your lender.
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