When I was younger and lived on our family farm, we could often tell when one of our sheep was ill or dead. We would see the buzzards or turkey vultures circling over the spot where the animal was. In that same way we now see some less than honest mortgage brokers and others taking advantage of the predicament of many homeowners who find themselves at the brink of foreclosure on their homes. They use catchy phrases like "Avoid foreclosure worries", " We are the ray of hope", or "There is light at the end of the tunnel". Desperate borrowers fall prey to these come-ons since they are looking for any way to avoid losing their homes. It may very well be that an unscrupulous broker got them into their financial troubles in the first place by talking them into borrowing more money than they should have. The old adage that starts "If sounds too good to be true, ......" applies here.
One scam I heard about was where the criminal told the buyer he would pay off the mortgage if the homeowner would give him a quit claim to his home. Then he would let the homeowner stay there by paying rent (often double the mortgage payment). Then after two years he could buy the home back. But with the high rent payments the homeowner eventually was evicted and lost any equity he had in the home.
Another one that is supposedly going around is where the crook gets the owner to give him a deed to the property and then he borrows more money using the home as collateral. In the end the homeowner finds that he owes even more money and again loses the home.
I urge you to only work with legitimate lending organizations or brokers. Your own lender may be willing to to work with you. Contrary to what old movies used to depict, lenders do not want to foreclose if they do not have to. It is costly and time consuming. They may be willing to work with you to find a satisfactory solution.
There are many good companies out there. Check with your local Better Business Bureau to see if there are any complaints against a company. Ask for recommendations from friends or REALTORS that you may know. If your state licenses mortgage brokers you can also check with them to see if a specific person is licensed and has any complaints filed against him or her. Do all you can to check out the person you are working with. You may be able to find a way out of your predicament, but it will only get worse if you get involved with scam artists. Letting a real estate attorney review any documents before you sign them may also be a very good idea.
I also suggest that you visit the website that the Department of Housing and Urban Development has set up concerning this issue. You can get there by clicking on the following link: HUD Advice For Avoiding Foreclosure
For more information or questions about this topic please call me at: 813-783-4444 or e-mail me at: jelwell1@tampabay.rr.com
I also invite you to visit my my website where I think you will find a lot of useful information. To get there just click on the following link: www.jelwell.century21bnr.com
John Elwell - REALTOR
CENTURY 21
Bill Nye Realty, Inc.
813-783-4444
Licensed in Florida
