Obama Rescues Home Owners & Criminals Create Fraud in Loan Mod Industry
Posted Under: Criminal
Obama Rescues Home Owners & Criminals Create Fraud in Loan Mod Industry
Oct 21, 2009 TEMECULA, CALIFORNIA — Autumn Leaf Investment Association hosts free weekly seminars and one-on-one consultations to educate consumers and the community about Loan Modification. After hearing from hundreds of members of Autumn Leaf Investment Association that had been victims of Loan Modification scams; Autumn Leaf established an education movement to protect homeowners.
Autumn Leaf Investment Association has found that foreclosure prevention has become the new calling card for con artists. Reports say perpetrators are collecting large fees up front for loan modifications and mortgage refinances that never materialize. Famous men like Charles Ponzi and Frank Abagnale probably wouldn’t have wasted their time with loan modification scams – but apparently, there are quite a few who aren’t so particular. Autumn Leaf has witnessed state agencies around the country warning homeowners about a sharp rise in mortgage loan modification scams. California’s State Attorney General, Jerry Brown and others are attempting to regulate and are requiring loan modification service companies to register and be licensed in some way. Autumn Leaf says, “We feel it is part of our responsibility to help protect our members and our community.” Proud members of several of our local Chamber’s of Commerce (Temecula Valley Chamber of Commerce, Riverside Chamber of Commerce, Murrieta Chamber of Commerce, Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce), Autumn Leaf says, “We know the importance of community action and responsibility.”
Many of these “Loan Modification” Specialists (aka crooks) are making promises that are unrealistic and extending false hope to desperate homeowners. Facts are: 1) Banks do not want your home foreclosed on; 2) Homeowner’s credit score has nothing to do with qualifying for a loan modification; 3) Homeowners are not required to be late on your mortgage payments; 4) Almost no one is better off walking away or declaring bankruptcy; 5) It is NEVER to late to do something, unless lock out has already occurred. Autumn Leaf Investment Association’s number one recommendation is to communicate and don’t bury your head in the sand – get educated and communicate. Being late or knowing you are about to be late on your mortgage can be overwhelming. Autumn Leaf understands and is there to help any family to navigate through the process. There are no guarantees of success, as every situation is unique. However, Autumn Leaf can guarantee that you can understand the process and successfully navigate through it – even if that means releasing your home to the bank and relocating. There is a right way and a wrong way to do this. Silence, from the owner, will only allow the process to continue to move forward. Without hearing from you or your advocate the foreclosure process will simply move forward to an inevitable conclusion: foreclosure.
Autumn Leaf Investment Association encourages all homeowners who are in trouble to contact a community based organization such as Autumn Leaf or your local housing agency. The FBI is doing what it can to combat this fraud, but has come late to the game and there is so much fraud occurring, it takes time for them to catch up to all the predators. Consumers have to educate themselves and protect themselves in this difficult economic time. If a consumer needs more than just information, Autumn Leaf Investment Association has a list of licensed and regulated brokers that have a history of positive results in loan modification negotiations. Visit www.AutumnLeafInvestmentAssociation.com to learn more and educate yourself about loan modification or contact their office at 877.257.3421.
Autumn Leaf Investment Association agrees with the Federal Trade Commission and the office of the California Attorney General, Jerry Brown:
• First, get help and call your lender.
• Lenders want to hear from homeowners. Do not ignore letters from your lender.
• Contact licensed and regulated advocates.
• It is illegal for foreclosure consultants to demand money before they give you a written contract and before they actually perform all the services described in the contract, such as negotiating new monthly payments or a new mortgage loan.
• However, an advance fee may be charged by an attorney, or by a real estate broker who has submitted the advance fee agreement to the California Department of Real Estate for review.
• Do not transfer title or sell your house to a “foreclosure rescuer.” Fraudulent foreclosure consultants often promise that if homeowners transfer title, they may stay in the home as renters and buy their home back later.
• Fraudulent foreclosure consultants claim that transfer is necessary so that someone with a better credit rating can obtain a new loan to prevent foreclosure. Beware — this is a common scheme so-called rescuers use to evict homeowners and steal all or most of the home’s equity.
• Do not pay your mortgage payments to someone other than your lender or loan servicer, even if he or she promises to pass the payment on. Fraudulent foreclosure consultants often keep the money for themselves.
• Do not sign any documents without reading them first. Many homeowners think that they are signing documents for a new loan to pay off the mortgage they are behind on. Later, they discover that they actually transferred ownership to the “rescuer” who is actually a scammer.
Autumn Leaf Investment Association is here to help protect their members and community. If you are in trouble or think you may be in trouble in the future, make contact with their office immediately and learn what you can do. Call 9-5 Monday – Friday (PST) 9-1 Saturday or leave a voice mail message 24 hours a day at 877.257.3421. Don’t allow yourself to be exploited at one of your most vulnerable times.
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