Foreclosure rescue scam artists are an increasingly growing issue in our today’s society that can cost you a loss of thousands of dollars and eventually your home. Foreclosure rescue scammers use various tactics to locate homeowners suffering from mortgage payments. They will make fake promises, false advertisements, and con public notices in the newspaper, internet, or even public files at the government institutions and then approach homeowners by sending personalized letters.

Scammers usually guarantee to ‘save’ your home or reduce your mortgage payments for a fee and may often claim that they have exclusive contact with your mortgage company. True help is generally free of cost, and we at Nexgen Home Solutions provide you with all the information as well as solutions you need to be aware of these scam artists.

How do foreclosure scammer artists locate you?

For scammers, identifying their targets is not really difficult. They look for foreclosure documents or property records and detect their victims. The record becomes available after the mortgage is filed, and anyone can search it. Even if you are not in the legal foreclosure, scammers can still trace you out, or they can even get you online or in print to advertise their fraudulent services. They would even call you directly and offer help.

The best thing you could do is to talk with your lender first if you are getting behind your loan. They are always available to aid and support you if you feel yourself in danger. They would provide you with far more options rather than waiting to avoid foreclosure.

Types of Scam

It is crucial to know the type of scams for homeowners facing foreclosure. We realize that the thought of losing your home can be a nightmare, and during such a difficult time, you are more susceptible to something to help you break out of your rut. These companies will show full sympathy and support that they will help you save your home. To identify these foreclosure scammer artists, we have outlined some common fraudulence that homeowners may face when they are on the edge of losing their homes.

1. Phantom Help

In the phantom help scheme for foreclosure, artists guarantee you help while they actually help themselves. Con artists take advantage of your critical situation and promise you that they would help you get out of your condition. When you are upset and distressed, making good decisions becomes demanding, and you are more vulnerable to trust scammers.

In phantom help, scammers demand a fee for their services, and false promises are made. You may receive phone calls, frequent paperwork that you could have made yourself. Eventually, you get stuck in a worse situation than before because of the little or no time left to save your home or lookout for help.

Tips and tricks phantom help scammers put on you:

• They will suggest you not to contact your lender, lawyer, or credit counselor.
• Request payments in advance
• They will ask you to not to pay to your mortgage firm and instead make all the payments to them.
• Trick you to sign the voucher to your house and sell it for whatever you can before it’s too late to save the home.
• They will use government documentation to repeat the payments using official acronyms such as “TARP” or official website URLs.
• Offer to bribe you for free public service.
• Extract much of your personal data to execute the stealing of identity.

2. Sale and Leaseback Scam – the White Knight Scheme

In this trick, the scammer tries to help you by moving in and saving your home from foreclosure by offering you to sell as-is, purchasing the home at a low price, and offering to rent it back to the homeowner while he makes cash payments to buy the home back. Although the property is taken in a different manner, what remains the same in sales and leaseback scam is that the scammer is able to claim the title of the home in the mound of paperwork, which is his target. Now they can do whatever they want to for the house, and the (former) homeowners soon notice that the rental conditions are broken, and there is little hope to getting over the house back.

This Scam is known as a loan but is it not. It’s really a leaseback buy-out. By offering much-needed assistance, the scammer exposes the insecurity of the homeowner. After the scammer takes the ownership of your property, he can evict you anytime. Moreover, the scammer is not obliged to sell you the home back. Generally, after the deed has been signed away, the property changes hands numerous times. The scammer may have taken new loans out on your home for hundreds of thousands of dollars more than your mortgage, which will make it hard for you to buy your home back.

3. Bait and Switch

Bait and switch is a misleading practice where a person or even a company declares products at an extremely low price in order to exchange items with cheaper or more cost-effective substitutes when bought. Much like a fishing pole at the bottom of the pit, businesses use cheaper costs to draw buyers. However, the company turns the product to market with a completely changed item to the customers rather than the originally advertised, the one that ‘baited’ them to come and buy.

In a bait and switch illegal loan scam, the defendant will promise homeowners with unlikely low mortgage payments and cash-outs on refinancing and then deceptively change the loan terms and conditions with unnecessarily large loan costs. In another way, they make you sign various documents where homeowners think they are signing for a single purpose when actually the scam artist is looting them. For example, when in fact you sign your homeownership for an exchange of a “rescue” loan to keep up to date with your mortgage.

Red Flag

Scammers will first gain a homeowner’s trust and then prey on them. When you are foreseeing the risk of losing your home, it is natural to go for any way out of it to save your home. However, it is important that you look for red flags that may alert you that it’s a fake offer, for instance:

• Company or people who request a loan adjustment to avoid foreclosure in whatever situation you are in.
• Suggest you to sell as in or sell fast to their company.
• Contacts you themselves as a foreclosure or mortgage Services that are legit do not hunt for homeowners.
• Ask you not to contact your lender, house counselor, or lawyer.
• Demand an advance fee before providing their services.
• Ask you to make your mortgage payment to them rather than your lender.
• Offers to lease your home so you can buy it back again.
• Ask you to sign documents that you are not able to understand or read in Companies that are legitimate will follow a step by step process and will advise you without any pressure.

How to avoid Scam and what to do if you are a Victim of a Scam

Yes, we will say it again: scammers victim on distressed, suffering, and helpless homeowners when you are being threatened by foreclosure. Stay strong and protect your self in the following ways!

1. Consider the advice given by your landlord or residential They are by your side. Do not be disgraced by your situation. Help and support are free from these services.
2. Keep an eye on someone who demands money to “counsel” you in a foreclosure or loan extension.
3. Beware of those who force you to sign paperwork quickly, persuade you with comments such as “all is normal,” refusing to authorize your lawyer to sign, or persuading you that he will save your home by moving the contract to him or her.
4. Do not lease your house with a third party or entity until you negotiate with the insurance provider to repay the loan directly.
5. Don’t make mortgage payments to anybody without your lender’s consent.
6. If someone ensures a loan extension, keep it transparent. Only accept improvements to loans from the mortgage lender.
7. Take note of anyone who claims you can not touch the lender. This is the most unacceptable thing you might do, and scammers normally use this technique as much as possible to escape identification.

If you feel that you are being scammed, file a complaint immediately to avoid any further foreclosure scam victims being harmed. Being well informed is the key to protect yourself from foreclosure rescue scam artists. We at Nexgen Home Solutions will provide you with the best decision to save your precious time, money, and efforts. If you are facing foreclosure, fortunately, you have options other than foreclosing your home, we are here at your relief to guide you through every step. Contact us at 202-540-0064.