How to Prevent Foreclosure and Not Get Ripped Off

If you’re a homeowner facing foreclosure you’ve probably been contacted by people offering to help you with your home loan. Yet there are a lot of scammers out there. How can your sort out legitimate businesses from the ones who simply plan to take your money? Note that most per fee mortgage modifiers charge thousands of dollars upfront to deal with your lender, money you can ill afford. In fact, I sat in on a discussion at one such outfit where an agent seriously suggested that tapped out homeowners take title loans on their cars at 72% and up per annum to pay the mortgage mod consultation fee. The company president laughed about the agent putting the car title loan company on speed dial. There is no need to pay thousands of dollars to save your home. The Obama administration realizes that solving the mortgage crisis is the key to financial recovery, so it has thrown billions at the problem. You do have three vary good options to follow. I’ve provided links below this article for each.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• internet connection
• phone

1. The first is to do it yourself. Most mortgage companies are eager to cooperate today because foreclosures are expensive. Research your options at a legitimate educational site like MortgageOutreach.org before calling your lender.

2. The second is to find a mortgage modifier employed by your loan servicer. Make sure that the company is above the board. Look at the website. Are the people behind it clearly listed? Are you allowed to call your servicer to verify an affiliation? Has it been in business for years with an established track record? Mortgage Outreach Services, at Mortgage Outreach.com is one example of a legitimate firm whose representatives are paid by mortgage servicers to find solutions. The firm charges borrowers no upfront money and simply tacks on a small processing fee onto the modified home loan.

3. The third option is to turn to the approved list of free counseling agencies maintained by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD. These counselors offer free or low cost advice. All charges must be appropriate for the services provided, and be explained in advance. You can find a local counselor through HUD’s interactive voice system at: [phone].

4. Don’t be fooled by firms masquerading as non-profit organizations that employ deceptive advertising and charge exorbitant fees. If you go for counseling, verify that it is on the HUD approved list or that your counselor is being paid by your servicer to find a mutually acceptable solution.

5. Finally, be patient. Counselors are overwhelmed with calls, so start your inquiries as soon as you risk falling behind. Be persistent. Use the money you saved by not paying for a loan mod to keep your mortgage current. Expect the entire process to take 45-60 days.

Resources

• Mortgage Outreach Educational Site
• Do it Yourself Loan Modification Guide
• No Cost Mortage Modification Advice
• reverse aging
• anti aging DVD
• anti aging video
• anti aging newsletter
• reverse aging now

[sha4852]

on 7/25/2009 Excellent advice and great idea to get on top of the situation before you get behind in payments. Thanks for all the resources and suggestions.

I'd give this 5 stars if I knew how to do that.