Fraud has been around forever and of course takes many forms. Mortgage fraud is consistently ranked in the the top 5 of financial scams. During the boom years, mortgage fraud consisted mainly of overinflated appraisals with investors or greedy mortgage brokers and banks selling high priced loans to ignorant and unqualified people. Now that those avenues have largely dried up, mortgage scams have taken a new look- the loan modification. The millions of Americans who have been affected by the recent economic climate are easy prey for these companies. Having been in the mortgage business for a short time during the boom years as both a loan processor and real estate attorney's assistant; I became a little familiar with the complexity of mortgages. Once going through the many steps of getting a mortgage written, it is even more difficult to change or void once it has been signed for.
Lenders have been swamped with requests by borrowers to perform loan modifications. Because of this, it is very difficult and time consuming to get one through. There are very strict guidelines for those to qualify for a modification. If you are in this situation I want you to first: take stock. Can you even afford the payments after they have been changed? Sometimes it's just best to try to sell the home rather than try to keep something that you can't afford, even if this means a short sale. If after deciding to go through with a modification, call your lender to see what the requirements are and get the proper paperwork started. I have heard to keep your answers brief and direct. Do not embellish and give unnecessary information. The person at the mortgage company has a stack a foot tall and doesn't care about the details of why you got into this situation.
If you decide to hire a company on your behalf to deal with the mortgage company, here are a few guidelines. There are very few legitimate companies who actually know how to walk through this process. As I said in my tip of the week, DO NOT give money up front for promises of the future. Also do not fall for ads on late night cable selling 'magic software' to 'fix' your mortgage problems, these are bogus. Do your research! Check with the better business bureau and Google the company with the word 'scam' to see if there are any complaints leveled against the company you are considering. If there are disgruntled customers out there, find them. Don't give out your personal info over the phone or online, especially if they called or emailed you. These are called phishing scams and are also among the top scams in the country. Last but not least, prioritize! If you are struggling with your house payment, remember the four walls. This means that you pay your mortgage, utilities, food, & transportation first before you pay anything else. I realize this may mean that someone doesn't get paid; but I'd rather have you current on your house and behind on MasterCard than the other way around. This will buy you some time to get your income up, do a short sale, and sell other things. These are stressful situations to deal with, but keep your chin up and don't fall victim to these scams out of fear of losing your house. When it really comes down to it a house is just a place. There are other places you can live and still create a home.
No comments:
Post a Comment