The annual foreclosure statistics are going through roof due to a
faltering housing market together with an exponential increase in
consumer debt. Not only are foreclosure numbers going up in San Diego
and other areas of California, but the entire Nation experienced a
RECORD number of foreclosures and bankruptcies just last year. Anyone
experiencing the process of home foreclosure will be looking for help.
Those facing foreclosure face immense emotional distress much more so
than those facing bankruptcy. The extreme stress of foreclosure causes
ones judgment to become clouded and makes it easy to fall victim to
scammers.
It always amazes me that no matter how bad off an individual might be
there is inevitably another individual willing to exploit that persons
suffering for their own financial gain. Con artists and scammers have
wasted no time in preying upon the greatly distress of those facing
foreclosure.
Scammers attempting to siphon money from those facing foreclosure
primarily depend upon two scams: the equity scam and the fake counseling
scams.
An equity scam is where an unsolicited offer is made to those facing
foreclosure to find a buyer for their homes and quickly solve their
financial problems. The individual making the offer will even offer to
take over the debt in exchange for their deed to the house.
Once the house is deeded over to the scammer, the house is then rented
out while the foreclosure proceedings stay in progress. Foreclosure
proceedings can take many months allowing the scammer the potential to
earn thousands. Those who deeded over the home ultimately do not
discover the scam until their home has been auctioned off. They are then
stuck with the original mortgage debt and the loss of their home.
With the fake counseling scam, an unsolicited offer is made for �expert�
advice and help in exchange for a small fee. The �experts� will then
figure out a way to decrease your monthly payments and even reduce the
original mortgage debt. What essentially ends up happening is that the
money is turned over to experts who offer advice that could have found
freely been on the Internet.
Often times the consulting fees for such a service can cost hundreds and
even thousands of dollars. The best a consultant can really do is get
you a short grace period, usually of no more than a few months. Again,
information for the grace period could have easily been found from the
internet or by a quick visit to the local library.
The easiest way to stay away from being scammed while enduring
forecloser is to remember the golden rule marketing; if it sounds to
good to be true, it probably is. If someone offers �expert� advice and
help, you should do a search for the information they offer on the
internet. More than likely you will find the very same information that
the �experts� have access to but without the price tag.
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