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Copyright © 2006 by Bob Schwartz San Diego real estate broker Certified Residential Specialist
Promotions Unlimited All rights reserved. You may reproduce materials available at this site for your own personal use and for non-commercial distribution. All copies must include this copyright statement. | | Foreclosure Scams You Need To KnowThe annual foreclosure statistics are going through roof due to a faltering housing market together with an incredible increase in consumer debt. Not only are foreclosure numbers going up in San Diego and other areas of California, but the entire Nation experienced a RECORD number of foreclosures and bankruptcies just last year. Anyone experiencing the process of home foreclosure will be seeking help.
Those facing foreclosure face great emotional distress much more so than those facing bankruptcy. The extreme stress of foreclosure causes ones judgment to become clouded and makes it easy to buy into scammers.
It always amazes me that no matter how bad off an individual might be there is inevitably another individual willing to exploit that persons suffering for their own financial gain. Con artists and scammers have wasted no time in preying upon the extraordinary distress of those facing foreclosure.
Scammers trying to siphon money from those facing foreclosure primarily depend upon two scams: the equity scam and the fake counseling scams.
An equity scam is where an unsolicited offer is made to those dealing with foreclosure to find a buyer for their homes and quickly solve their financial problems. The individual making the offer will even offer to take over the debt in exchange for their deed to the house.
Once the house is handed over to the scammer, the house is then rented out while the foreclosure proceedings remain in progress. Foreclosure proceedings can take many months offering the scammer the potential to earn thousands. Those who deeded over the home ultimately do not realize the scam until their home has been auctioned off. They are then stuck with the original mortgage debt and the loss of their home.
With the fake counseling scam, an unsolicited offer is made for “expert” advice and assistance in exchange for a small fee. The “experts” will then figure out a way to reduce your monthly payments and even reduce the original mortgage debt. What really ends up happening is that the money is turned over to experts who give advice that could have found freely been on the Internet.
Often times the consulting fees for this service can cost hundreds and even thousands of dollars. The best a consultant can really do is get you a short grace period, usually of no more than a couple of months. Again, information for the grace period could have easily been obtained from the internet or by a quick trip to the local library.
The easiest way to keep away from being scammed while enduring forecloser is to remember the golden rule marketing; if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. If someone offers “expert” advice and support, you should do a search for the information they offer on the internet. More than likely you will find the very same information that the “experts” have access to but without the price tag. 
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