Archive for the ‘Foreclosure Scams’ Category

More and more house owners who were and are victims of foreclosures are coming out with foreclosure scam stories. Many companies came forward with rosy promises of helping to prevent foreclosures but ultimately nothing happens except that the victims find themselves poorer.

The story of Chantae Grandsberry of Brooklyn Center is one of many. She was hunting around for someone to help her save the house that was her home. Her searches took her to an Oklahoma firm and at that time she believed that she had knocked at the right address. The firm was freely quoting from the Bible on its website and introduced themselves as foreclosure prevention specialists who believed in Christian values. Grandsberry and her husband were taken in by these holy platitudes. At that time Chantae was expecting a child and believed that those who cited the Lord could not sin. But in a short time she lost her house last October when the company – American Foreclosure Specialists, failed to keep their promises. They had taken $1,200 in advance although this was in violation of Minnesota law, commented the Attorney General of Minnesota, Lori Swanson.

In the beginning of the month Swanson filed law suits against American Foreclosure Specialists and three other firms – all being based outside the state. They had violated the law by collecting fees even before providing services they had promised to do so. Here the matter did not end. Because of their tall talk, the house owners lost time and more funds trying to salvage the foreclosure hit wreckage. Thus these scammers made a bad situation even worse. Swanson filed the suits in the District Court of Hennepin County. She is also trying to prevent these scammers from operating in Minnesota. This is part of the general programme the Attorney General has taken up to sieve out the fraudsters and cheaters.

The cases were registered against American Foreclosure Specialists, National Foreclosure Relief of Nevada, Lewis Loss Mitigation of Alabama (also operating as Stop Foreclosure and Lewis and Associates Consulting), D.R. Financial Services of California (also working as D.R. Financial and Superior Home Loans), Mortgage Default Assistance of Florida and Home Assure of Florida.

Despite official measures being taken against the scammers, it is essential that the people become aware of the rising number of cheats and tricksters. In fact their numbers are rising with the number of foreclosures. The foreclosure notice traumatizes the victim who cannot think clearly.

Search Foreclosure Listings

• Florida Foreclosure Listings
• Alabama Foreclosure Listings
• Nevada Foreclosure Listings
• New York Foreclosure Listings
• Minnesota Foreclosure Listings

Search Images

The story of Dorothy Galbreath and foreclosure scammers is just one of the many dotting the scene – the stuff out of which novels are woven speaking of the times.

Doroth, a bus driver, had been married for long 43 years when death took away her husband. He had built her a house in University Park, Illinois. His death plunged her into financial troubles and she had a trying time keeping the foreclosure wolf from knocking at here door. Desperate she sought the help being offered by a company – Alternative Options. The end of the story is that today she has lost the house that had been her home. Alternative Options, took advantage of her age and vulnerability. She hardly had words to describe her situation. It was like being ‘crushed’ she said.

Legal experts opine that Dorothy became the victim of a typical foreclosure scam. The scammers operate in two ways. In the first kind a smart talking agent appears representing a company that may or may not exist. The person offers to negotiate with the lender to bring down the mortgage payment to an affordable figure. For this a hefty fee is taken after which the scammer vanishes; nothing is done. The second type of scam is even more dangerous. The firm promises to save the house from foreclosure but the borrower has to sign over the title to the rescuer. This is what happened to Dorothy. She was made to believe that Alternative Options would help her refinance but after waiting for a month she found herself falling further behind in payments. By the time she learnt of the fraud or even got suspicious it was already too late. It was not until she sat down across the table with Alternative Options that she came to know that the plan was to write over the title of the house. It was a psychological moment and she was rushed through it. The confidence building had been done previously. She found that she had sold the house at less than the market value. The company then leased it back to her and she was allowed to stay on as a tenant. But the rent was higher than the mortgage she was paying. She had the option of buying back her house but the price was exorbitant - $37,000 more than for what she had sold it for!

Search Foreclosure Listings

• Illinois Foreclosure Listings
• Aurora Foreclosure Listings
• Chicago Foreclosure Listings
• Decatur Foreclosure Listings
• Freeport Foreclosure Listings

Search Images

The Attorney General of Hennepin stated that some consulting firms have been duping foreclosure victims with promises of help. Six firms located outside the state have been charged by Hennepin County District Court. Injunction is being sought to prevent them from continuing with their business in Minnesota while the court proceedings are in progress. In the suits it is stated that these firms violated the laws of the state by raking in handsome fees for services they promised to deliver. But in reality they did nothing of the sort. As a result of this this foreclosed suffered intensely. More money and time was lost that ultimately led to the very thing they were trying to avoid – eviction.

Attorney General Lori Swanson commented that these firms ‘made a bad situation even worse.’ The companies were blatant enough to host websites advertising their claims. They also used direct mail services to make contacts with the house owners and sweet talked their way into the traumatized hearts of their prey. In each particular case these firms asked for consultation fees ranging from $1,000 to $,2,400. However they slowly made more demands matching further promises from clients who were already neck deep in debts facing and foreclosures.

These scammers approach at the point when the victim is first hit with the news of foreclosure when fear and despair traumatize sanity. Lonnie Sievert lost her house in Brooklyn Park to foreclosure. Her situation was made worse with these cheats. The trio against whom law suits were filed were National Foreclosure Relief of Nevada operating in California, Lewis Loss Mitigation of Alabama (using many names like American Foreclosure Specialists amongst others), also in California and Home Assure of Florida.

Each individual has a story to tell, Terry Lake is one. She has filed for bankruptcy in an effort to save her house. She gave something around $2,400 to one of the trio for this advice of filing bankruptcy. Another person, Lake, had more or less the same story to tell. Intuition had warned him that the promises were false and yet he got taken in by smart sales talk. To add sacrilege to injury the website of the American Foreclosure Specialists underlined the fact that the firm was run by Christians quoting lines from the Bible. One of the victims who chose this particular firm for its religious tone was Chantae Grandsberry of Brooklyn Centre.

Search Foreclosure Listings

• Minnesota Foreclosure Listings
• Hennepin Foreclosure Listings
• Brainerd Foreclosure Listings
• Cambridge Foreclosure Listings
• Faribault Foreclosure Listings

Search Images

As foreclosures are increasing so too are scammers. Smart talking rescue teams promise to save the house and ultimately walk away with the purses of their clients.

As the numbers rise a trend and pattern can be noticed. This has led BBB or Better Business Bureau to give out gloomy warnings that with more foreclosures in the offing more people will lose whatever is left to these vultures preying upon the vulnerable.

It is estimated that about 1.7 million will face foreclosure in the coming years. The victims will be in such a traumatized desperate state when they will clutch at any bit of straw to survive. This is the exact stage set for scammers to play out their part and pick the bones clean.

In the past few months BBB has had reports pouring in about these con men from all the 50 states. States suffering from the highest numbers of foreclosure like Georgia, Colorado and Ohio are registering the most number of scammers posing as foreclosure rescue teams.

The con rescue artists contact the foreclosure victims either directly or attract them with their websites. They make tall promises of contacting the lender and negotiating fresh amicable terms to bring about a stop to the foreclosure process. If they fail to do so they promise to refund the fees they had collected from their clients. Some of the victims have paid even $1,300 hoping for the best. After sometime when they realize that precious time and money has gone it is too late to do anything. Refunds have vanished into thin air together with the artists.

BBB is repeatedly hearing the same story. The scammers are artists par excellence. They dupe their victims into a false sense of security and hypnotize them like what the snake does to a bird. Unfortunately scammers are adding insult to the injury of foreclosure and giving the deathblow to the sick and dying. A lot of money is going down the drain as well as precious time that may well have been utilized to forestall foreclosures.

As a precautionary measure BBC warns people never to trust the personal approach but to directly contact BBC over the web or check with the Attorney General and or the Real Estate Commissioner of the State. Never sign documents without legal advice and above all directly contact the lender without any wastage of time.

Search Images

A resident of
Springboro, Randall Webb, has been awarded a 20 year jail term as well being slapped a fine of $250,000 even after pleading guilty to a single count of mail fraud for making false help promises to foreclosure victims in Cincinnati and Dayton. He set up a firm named American Foreclosure Group LLC charged fees from clients under stress from foreclosures amounting to $600 or $700. He promised to talk with the lenders and arranged for an amicable settlement. But in reality he filed bankruptcy on behalf of his clients without either their knowledge or consent.

Webb is not just the one of the kind, says Gregory G. Lockhart who is the US Attorney for the Southern Ohio. These scammers promise lies and pocket whatever they can scrounge from the hapless foreclosure victims. Those facing foreclosures should consult bonafide lawyers who are well versed in matters relating to bankruptcy and foreclosures.

The scammers take advantage of the psychological moment when the victims are at their most vulnerable. The borrowers remain totally in the dark because the scammers make it a point to warn them about contacting lenders. They do absolutely nothing to help them. In one instance Webb misappropriated funds which his client was going to invest in a new repayment plan.
Upon being charged Webb offered to make up in full the losses he had caused his clients to incur. The amount was calculated to be $5,000. He is to be sentenced on 4th February by USA District Judge, Walter Rice. According to Federal guiding rules a sentence ranging from 12 to 18 months is suggested but it is not binding.

There is nothing unusual about scammers picking up the trials of foreclosures. It is the law of nature for vultures to peck the leavings when the big predators have done their work. Foreclosure notice have a terrifying effect on the borrowers. It is not just jewels or bonds that they are going to lose – it is the roof above their heads. At this psychological moment the scammers lend a shoulder to lean on. They gain the complete trust of the clients who now lose everything left over after the foreclosure slap. The least that the authorities and consumer activists can do at this point is to catch the scammers and save something from the ruins.

Search Images

It is happening right across the country. Foreclosures are being closely tracked by rescue vultures, who in the name of saving victims actually worsen the situation. The house goes in any case and together with it goes much needed cash. Thus warning signals are being sent to house owners across USA.

The number is staggering – in the next few years 1.7 million house owners will lose the roof above their heads. In a traumatic desperate state of mind they will clutch at any straw offering to save them from drowning. Unfortunately these con men find this the best opportunity to pick clean the bones of victims already half killed by the foreclosure beast.
BBB reports that calls for help from rescue scammers are pouring in from all the 50 states. States like Michigan and Ohio that have the highest foreclosures have the greatest number of scammers hovering around.

The usual procedure is that the scammers take a direct approach and contact the house owner over phone or mail. Some have aggressive attractive web sites to snare the victims. The con men, artists par excellence, talk profusely and promise that for a fee they will renegotiate for a better term with the lenders. They even promise to refund the fees if work is not completed satisfactorily. Desperate foreclosure victims have paid high amounts like $1,300 nursing high hopes and trusting the scammers. Most of the victims not only lost the fees but also precious time during which they could have themselves opened a dialogue with the lender. The final end of the story is the same – foreclosure!

House owners faced with foreclosure are advised to contact BBB who are available round the clock. Their website will easily be able to provide the necessary particulars. Do not trust anybody without getting a reliability report from BBB. The personal approach should always raise suspicions. One should be wary about signing documents or signing away the title deed without proper legal advice. The least that can be done is to talk to a friend. The best way is to directly talk to the lender who is also interested to avoid foreclosures – given the gigantic proportions it has currently taken. If the house owner feels uneasy about the manners of any person or group, offering rescue they should immediately lodge a complaint with BBB, which operates all over Western Michigan.

Search Images

In the raw the jackals and vultures move in when the big predators have had their fill. It seems to be the same today in human society – and that too in America. Victims facing foreclosures are in a traumatized state – ready to clutch at any straw of hope. They cannot think rationally and calmly. This is the ideal scene for the scammers to enter the stage and pick the bones. With foreclosures on the rise it is a party out there for those who have a taste for rotten carcass. The foreclosure scammers are gorging and belching. Beware!

The wolf in sheep’s clothing comes knocking with sweet words of help. They promise the sky. But instead of succour the foreclosure victims find themselves not only without their foreclosed homes but also with slimmer purses – notes and coins they could have ill afforded to have lost during this severe weather.

Reports about sham rescue schemes from about all the 50 states have been pouring it – reports BBB. The number of foreclosure scams complaints rises in proportion to the number of foreclosures. Thus the maximum number is reported in the worst affected places like Georgia, Colorado and Ohio.

The line of action follows the route of email and posting of printed offers. It seems to be the same story repeated everywhere. There are even eye-catching web sites to trap the unwary. Treat personal approach with extreme caution. Usually hand written notes are pushed inside mailboxes overflowing with messages of concern for the foreclosure victim’s plight. No documents should be signed that writes away the title deed. Get the documents scrutinized by someone who knows and can be trusted – preferably a legal advisor. The helpers offer to negotiate satisfactory terms to stop foreclosures. The assurance is that if the process fails then the fees will be refunded. Some have been desperate enough to pay $1,300. Neither was action taken nor was the money returned – only precious time was lost.

The general advice to mortgage victims, from all responsible quarters, is to contact BBB – which is available on the web. A reliability-report is available for free. It is also relevant to remember that those who offer help should have a license from the state’s Department of Finance. A license from Real Estate Commission is required for those trading in property. The bottom line however is – contact the lender directly and immediately.

Search Images