Joe,
Lemme preface by saying I've been in the mortgage business for almost 10 years now. DON'T DO BUSINESS WITH THESE PEOPLE!
The only people that can effectively help you are either attoney's or simply yourself. Modifying your loan takes a lot of time and paperwork. The end result are these scammers charging you thousands in fee's for something you could do yourself. It just takes time. Most of the time these are guys who couldn't hack it in the regular motgage business and are looking for another way to rip off homeowners. They're pretty much the garbage that entered into this business back in 04. They'll probably pitch you some bullshit about having a unique relationship with your lender or "know someone on the inside" that can help streamline the process. It's all bullshit. They'll probably ask you for a few thousand in upfront fee's too. In the end they won't get shit done and you may lose your money.
Personally I for one would LOVE regulation in my business so that we can throw these amateurs back onto the used car lot.
Hope this helps.
Lemme preface by saying I've been in the mortgage business for almost 10 years now. DON'T DO BUSINESS WITH THESE PEOPLE!
The only people that can effectively help you are either attoney's or simply yourself. Modifying your loan takes a lot of time and paperwork. The end result are these scammers charging you thousands in fee's for something you could do yourself. It just takes time. Most of the time these are guys who couldn't hack it in the regular motgage business and are looking for another way to rip off homeowners. They're pretty much the garbage that entered into this business back in 04. They'll probably pitch you some bullshit about having a unique relationship with your lender or "know someone on the inside" that can help streamline the process. It's all bullshit. They'll probably ask you for a few thousand in upfront fee's too. In the end they won't get shit done and you may lose your money.
Personally I for one would LOVE regulation in my business so that we can throw these amateurs back onto the used car lot.
Hope this helps.
Thanks guys, I guess it's a loan modification that adjusts for decreased home values in the area. So that, let's say I owe $200,000 on my mortgage, and the houses around me are now worth $150,000, they work with the lender so that the balance of my loan would be closer to $150,000. It does seem like it's a ripoff. I guess I'm not sure wtf this stimulus package is supposed to do. Does it only help people who are behind on their loans? (I'm not) Anyway, thanks for your insight 3peet,
I appreciate it. If I can do a loan mod myself who do I call? I tried calling my lender (Chase) and they kept referring me to different people, none of them knew what the f--- they were talking about. Bottom line for me is this shit is confusing as hell unless you're an attorney or in the mortgage business yourself.
I appreciate it. If I can do a loan mod myself who do I call? I tried calling my lender (Chase) and they kept referring me to different people, none of them knew what the f--- they were talking about. Bottom line for me is this shit is confusing as hell unless you're an attorney or in the mortgage business yourself.
Joe,
Gimmie a half hour so. I'll reply with the full details. Hopefully this can help anyone.
btw....this article came in a timely manner which i found this morning.
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http://www.contracostatimes.com/top-stories/ci_11986205?nclick_check=1
Rise in scam artists who prey on homeowners facing foreclosure
By Steven Harmon
MediaNews Sacramento Bureau
Posted: 03/24/2009 02:37:59 PM PDT
Updated: 03/25/2009 08:12:19 AM PDT
SACRAMENTO — Homeowners under the threat of foreclosure are increasingly turning to the wrong people for help — scammers who offer what appears to be a way out of their crisis but instead puts them in a deeper hole.
In less than a year, the number of homeowner complaints about scams has skyrocketed from 10 to 500, according to the Department of Real Estate, though the number of actual cases may be in the thousands.
The Department of Justice and district attorneys offices around the state have ramped up their consumer fraud units to combat rogue companies that have exploited the harsh economic environs trapping untold numbers of homeowners.
"A cottage industry of scams has popped up ... targeting people who are extremely vulnerable," said Sen. Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, at a news conference Tuesday before chairing an informational hearing on the issue in the Judiciary Committee.
"They get money up front for services they never provide, sometimes taking thousands of dollars, and offer a false sense of hope to these consumers. Not only are consumers out of money they can ill afford to lose, but they also end up short on time to work out solutions with their lenders."
The Judiciary Committee explored whether legislation is needed to crack down on the scams, but experts said the most important thing consumers can do is to be wary of a deal that sounds too good to be true.
"We're in a time when you can't trust folks just because they're attorneys, mortgage brokers, or real estate professionals," said Maeve Elise Brown, executive director of Oakland-based Housing and Economic Rights Advocates. "We want the public to call us or agencies like Housing and Urban Development. We encourage people to be as careful as they can be."
The Alameda County District Attorney's office in December won the conviction of two women, Sonia Alvarez and Maria Silva, who operated out of Livermore. Running a group called the Community Home Saver, they targeted Hispanic homeowners facing foreclosure, taking $2,500 to $5,000 a month saying they could save their clients' homes from foreclosure.
They victimized 39 people across the state, taking $170,000; now they face 16 months in prison.
"The amount of foreclosure rescue fraud is at unprecedented levels," said David Lim, a deputy district attorney from Alameda County. "We're seeing a lot of misinformation being sent to homeowners, we're seeing unlicensed agents acting as legitimate companies, working through mass mailers sent to homeowners facing foreclosure."
The number of suspicious entities defrauding consumers may be in the thousands across the state, said Tom Papageorge, the chief of the consumer protection division in the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office.
"I'm convinced we're at the tip of the iceberg," Papageorge said. "Unfortunately, mankind's unlimited genius in defrauding his or her fellow man never is more visible than here."
The key to prevent being victimized, Papageorge said, is to recognize some red flags.
Fraud artists will comb through mortgage default records to find targets, send e-mail messages and direct mailers or make "robo" calls to contact homeowners. They insist on upfront payments, require the homeowner to hand over the deed of the title to their house and persuade the victims to not contact other, more legitimate mortgage foreclosure counselors such as Housing and Urban Development, which offers foreclosure services.
Some also offer, for a charge, to assist homeowners in obtaining a property tax reassessment — a service that's offered for free by county assessors.
Contrary to popular belief not all loan modification companies are scams. Just like lawyers and doctors there are a few that spoil the whole bunch. I own a mortgage company that does these loan mods among other things. We do not charge upfront fees and have a free consultation process.
Let me know if you guys need some help
Let me know if you guys need some help
