Beware of foreclosure prevention scams
 

http://www.latimes.com/classified/re...,5702980.story

How's this for a business plan? A company buys or rents lists of recent default filings from across the country -- thousands of people who have been notified by lenders that if they don't get their mortgage payments back on track, the next step will be foreclosure.

Then they send each homeowner on the list a personalized letter with an urgent message: "We know you're having a tough time right now, but we can save your home! It's not too late! We know how to get through to your lender and work things out to save your house. Call this toll-free number immediately!"

The letters go to rich people, poor people, owners of big and small houses, and they generate hundreds of callbacks.

But in most cases, the panicked homeowners who agreed to pay a fee of $1,200 to $1,300 for the foreclosure prevention services in advance receive little or nothing in the way of help.

A drowning man will grasp at anything and everything before he goes down.

People who do scams like this should be skinned alive. But, of course, they always get off easy because their crimes are perceived as non violent white collar offenses.

Where can I buy that list of "leads"?

RealtyTrac.com

as much as $2500 in some cases, but how do you give someone thta kind of money when you clearly in trouble already and not get something in writing guaranteeing you some result...

salesmanship and the power of credit card debt :(

Actually, a lot of people in trouble have stopped paying their mortgage and simply keep or use the money for other purposes. Thus, they are sitting on a little cash.

I have a friend that hasn?t paid her mortgage in the last 12 months. She is also behind on her taxes and insurance. The mortgage company told her that they?ve been paying the taxes and insurance to avoid any liens on the house. She is stalling them and has prepared bankruptcy papers but will not file them until she gets a foreclosure notice.

She tells me that she talks to other folks to see how long it takes to get kicked out and the average in her neighborhood is about 8 months. In her mind, she wants to go as long as possible without paying mortgage or rent. She doesn?t want the house because she owes $500K on it and the market value is only $225K.

Anyway, she is keeping all her cash and refuses to put any money into the house.

Tough times in every state for sure.

those are very fucked up scams.... preying on those who can't pay their mortgage ..... :(

Getting a loan on the title of the house? :warning

Exactly.:Oh crap