San Jose Short Sale Agent: Silicon Valley Foreclosure Prevention Specialists

It seem inevitable.  During economically challenging times, all types of  fraud increase.  People who are at the brink of losing their homes grasp at straws and want to hear that people out there have miracle means of saving their homes from foreclosure.  The fraudsters claim they have knowledge of  ”secret laws” or legal loop holes which will invalidate their mortgages or otherwise prevent the lenders from being able to foreclose, etc……

The FBI tracked mortgage fraud for the past decade and revealed that 91% of all Mortgage Fraud in the past decade took place between 2007 – 2010.  

 
FBI Stats

If someone asks you to engage in any of these activities, you want to run the opposite way.   Protect yourself by arming yourself with knowledge.

Mortgage Scams

If you have been following my blog, you know that I am personally offended by these scam artists out there who are preying on homeowners going through difficult times right now.  I try to warn people about scams and point them in the right direction.

If you are one of the 10 Million Homeowners who is behind in mortgage payments and have come to the difficult conclusion that you can no longer afford to keep your home but also cannot sell it either and are looking for a way out, there are dignified solutions available to you.  Foreclosure is not the only course.  You may not be aware, but there are alternative solutions which may not only allow you to sell your current unsellable home, but may also provide you with  thousands of dollars to make it happen, if you qualify.

The HAFA (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives) program is a Federal Government sponsored program to help homeowners in distress.  IT COSTS NOTHING TO THE HOMEOWNERS.   Real Estate agents can help you with the process, but the homeowners do not pay the Realtors; their commissions are paid from the proceeds of the HAFA sale.

Unfortunately, many homeowners are not aware and are being duped by swindlers who claim to be able to help.    Below are 10 signs of Mortgage Modification Scams.
Mortgage Payments Weighing You Down Report

I have said this many times, but my personal pet peeve is hearing of scammers who try to take advantage of people who are victims of these economically difficult times.    It is bad enough that many homeowners are suffering and find themselves in a situation where they are unable to pay their mortgages.  But far worse to believe they are victimized again a second time when they put their hopes on people who profess to be there to help.  Sometimes even the lenders are engaged in practices that are bordering on scams called dual track foreclosure.

Every time one of these scammers is identified, I get worked up and get into my crime busting mode…….   So here we go again.

The first tell tale sign of a fraud or scam is that the so called service providers are asking for payments up front, before any work has been performed.  ALWAYS BE LEERY OF THESE REQUESTS.  There are multiple variations of these pay-first scams.

A recent scam identified by the California Department of Real Estate (DRE) involves up front payment to join a class action lawsuit which promises extraordinary home mortgage relief.  A brief description of the con has been reposted below for review purposes.

QUESTIONABLE AND/OR FALSE CLAIMS OF THE SO-CALLED MORTGAGE LOAN

DEFENSE OR “MASS JOINDER” AND CLASS LITIGATORS.

A.  What are the Claims/Sales Pitches?

They are many and varied, and include:

1. You can join in a mass joinder or class action lawsuit already filed against your

lender and stay in your home.  You can stop paying your lender.

2. The mortgage loans can be stripped entirely from your home.

3. Your payment obligation and foreclosure against your home can be stopped when

the lawsuit is filed.

4. The litigation will take the power away from your lender.

5. A jury will side with you and against your lender.

6. The lawsuit will give you the leverage you need to stay in your home.

7. The lawsuit may give you the right to  rescind your home loan, or to reduce your

principal.

8. The lawsuit will help you modify your home loan.  It will give you a step up in the

loan modification process.

9. The litigation will be performed through “powerful” litigation attorney

representation.

10. Litigation attorneys are “turning the tables on lenders and getting cash settlements

for homeowners”.

In one Internet advertisement, the marketing materials say, “the damages sought in your

behalf are nothing less than a full lien strip or in otherwords [sic] a free and clear house if

the bank can’t produce the documents they own the note on your home.  Or at the very

least, damages could be awarded that would reduce the principal balance of the note on

your home to 80% of market value, and give  you a 2% interest rate for the life of the

loan”

There are many varieties of scams identified and collected by the DRE over the years, some of them are listed below in the Consumer Alerts page for your benefit.    http://www.yourhome.ca.gov/fraud_warning.pdf

Homeowners in distress, I know you are in desperate situation and are seeking any and all assistance you can find, but please don’t let your situation cloud your judgment.  Be the wise consumer that you always have been.  Please check on the people who profess their desires to help you.  Know who you are dealing with before you give them any money.

The California Legislature is taking steps again to stop this deceptive practice of what I consider a dual-handed scam:  telling the borrower they will work with them on the loan modification, while simultaneously initiating foreclosure measures, often without letting the borrower know of this fact.   I believe this is a form of scam that the banks are perpetrating on the borrowers, especially in those instances when they do not disclose that the foreclosure efforts are not being put on hold.

Common sense would dictate that if the bank is working on a loan modification with you, then it should at least hold off on the foreclosure proceedings until the matter has been fully resolved. Borrowers often get lulled into a false sense of security, thinking foreclosure efforts are put on hold, when they are not.   Once the loan modification has been denied, then there is no time for other available alternatives, such has short sales.    If someone is about to lose their home, then they should be given every opportunity to remedy the situation.

Hopefully this courageous effort will go through.

http://mobile.latimes.com/p.p?m=b&a=rp&id=208114&postId=208114&postUserId=7&sessionToken=

California Bill Ending ‘Dual Track’ Foreclosures Faces Key Vote

Here is an interesting article about how the BBB (Better Business Bureau) rated the major loan servicing companies which handle loan modification and short sales.  It’s was an interesting read for me because I was having a lot of difficulties recently with Chase, they have been ruthless and unreasonable in their demands, especially when they are in junior positions.  It used to be that Bank of America was the bank that everyone doing short sales bad mouthed; but my feeling was Chase was getting up there.

I was far from surprised to discover that Chase had received an “F”  from the consumers who were dealing with them.  The interesting fact is that Bank of America, which used to be at the bottom has now received an “A+”!  I can attest to this change  as well, because with the implementation of Equator into their short sale business and with their executive, Matt Vernon’s, committment to change the way they approached short sales,  their level or service and the speed with which they handle matters have changed  180 degrees.   They are one of the best to work with right now.

Another interesting point that the article tackles is the bait and switch loan mods that we are beginning to hear about.  Homeowners being strung out for months on these “temporary modifications” and while waiting (and paying) getting foreclosed on without notice.  At first, these instances sounded like anomalies, but the frequency of these instances is increasing; thereby indicating some sort of concerted effort rather than mere fluke incidents.

See what grade your loan servicer received.

http://www.shamethebanks.org/jorge/bbb-f-grades-to-chase-litton-ocwen

Now jail time and fines await those who intend to defraud home owners in distress.   Preying on the weak and vulnerable has now increased in cost of doing business for these con artists.  Maybe we will read less about people being defrauded.

The prosecution and conviction of people engaged in fraudulent loan modification assistance programs continues.  This time, two San Diego men were charged with” duping homeowners who were falling behind on their mortgages into paying $2,500 to $3,000 for loan modification services.”

Interestingly, these guys used a PO Box address near the White House and used a seal that looked like it could have come from the US Capitol and made falsely made claims to have attorneys and forensic accounts on staff.

Never, ever pay up-front money to anyone, who claims to be able to get your loan modified.

California Attorney General Brown shuts down company which took money under false pretenses and forces them to make restitution.  If you were taken by this company, you can file a claim for re-payment.  At least one big predator has been struck down and the victims have a chance at getting something back.

http://ag.ca.gov/newsalerts/print_release.php?id=1879

If you have been following me, you know that one of my pet peeves is the fraud that is perpetrated against desperate homeowners who are in dire straits by crooks out there to make a quick buck.    But the scams seem to be continuing.  Even with all the media stories about these fraudsters taking advantage of desperate homeowners, they seem to continue to find victims.

Here is a report which should shed some light onto and hopefully steer some homeowners away from some of the scams that are being used out there today.

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/7_on_your_side&id=7061094

Our Governator today vetoed AB 764 which provided that people or companies would only collect a fee if they were successful in providing an actual loan modification. You read that correctly: only collect if they provide successfully provide loan modification. He vetoed that bill.

In his veto message of AB 764, Governor Schwarzenegger wrote, “I do not agree with the provision of this bill that will only allow fees to be collected if a modification is successful. This could adversely affect legitimate businesses that provide loan modification services.”

Perhaps our Governor is unaware that most service providers are expected to successfully complete the service for which they were hired before they are paid. A good example of that would be a Realtor like me. Although I would love the idea, no one would pay me my commission if I almost got a short sale approved from the bank or almost saved someone from going into foreclosure. Can you imagine me going to a seller who is being evicted from his home because I was unsuccessful in stopping that eviction and still demanding he pay me? If I am unsuccessful in my service, I get what I deserve: nothing.

Perhaps to a millionaire former action star, this is a foreign concept, but for most of us regular people, it is quite reasonable and normal concept. In these dire circumstances when hard working people are losing their homes and destroying families due to unemployment and other tragic circumstances sometimes beyond their controls, you don’t get paid simply for showing up. These are not normal times……..

Do we really need to wonder why he and our legislators do not get along?