Equity Skimming Scams
Scams are everywhere - For all of the homeowners who are in foreclosure or experiencing some other sort of difficulty, there are some unscrupulous individuals who lay and wait to take advantage of them.
One common foreclosure scam is equity skimming. Equity skimming is when one person take title to a property subject to an existing mortgage that is in default and is defined as:
A pattern of conduct in which a buyer defrauds a property owner of his or her equity interest or other value in real property under the guise of a purchase of the owner's property, but which is in fact a device to convert the owner's equity interest or other value in real property to a buyer, who fails to make payments, diverts the equity or other value to the buyer's benefit, and leaves the property owner with a resulting financial loss.Lucier
Guess what - This is illegal in all 50 states. Scammers will get homeowners to sign over the deed to their home for no money down. The scammer will then rent out the home to a third party, pocket the rent, not make the mortgage payments, and if there is equity in the home, strip it out using home equity lines of credit. Finally the lender will foreclose and the owner will lose their property and have a foreclosure on their credit.
We work with homeowners in foreclosure regardless of whether or not they have equity in their home. We will take over payments, cure the amount that is delinquent and save the owner from foreclosure. If you are interested in learning more, call us now.
Tags: Foreclosure : Scams : Equity Skimming : Mortgage
Comments
Please contact me. I am interested in hearing about what you do for homeowners in trouble. It could be good press for you.
thanks
colleen
Posted by: colleen dwyer | July 12, 2007 7:07 AM
Hi Colleen -
Thanks for contacting me through our Answers For Owners Blog. As for the help that we provide to homeowners facing foreclosure, there are many things that we do. As I am sure you know, facing foreclosure is a stressful and confusing process. We help homeowners by explaining the process and the options that may be available to them. The one thing that we stress when dealing with homeowners is that they need to understand the consequences of whatever solution they choose. If they choose to refinance (and have the credit/equity/income to do so), they need to know that the rates they get may not be as good as what they have now and in reality it is only prolonging the time they are in debt. If they choose to work out a short sale with they bank, they have to know that they will most likely get a 1099 for the difference. If they choose to sell the home to us they have to understand that they are walking away from their immediate problems but their credit may be severely damaged already and they may have a tough time finding a place to rent. If they declare bankruptcy, they have to understand that under the new law they will be unable to declare bankruptcy again to stop a foreclosure. In bankruptcy they will be required to make a monthly trustee payment that is most likely higher than the current mortgage payment which they were unable to pay in the first place and there is a good possibility that they will be kicked out of their plan and the bank will restart the foreclosure and their credit (with a foreclosure and a bankruptcy on it) will be unsalvageable.
Like the name of our blog we provide answers for owners. We do not steal equity, we do not charge fees for what we do - we genuinely try to help. There are plenty of opportunities for us to purchase properties from owners who want to and need to sell, and make a profit. There is no need to trick someone who is already in a tough spot.
Hope this is helpful, and thanks again for contacting us - What kind of good press do you think you can get for us?
Regards,
Rich
Posted by: Rich | July 12, 2007 4:28 PM