- The Mortgage Industry ‘House of Cards’
Yesterday morning’s Good Morning America (7/23/09) ran a piece on mortgage modification companies such as the Nation’s Housing Modification Center that are dangling rescue plans in front of desperate struggling homeowners. These disreputable firms send mail in official government-looking envelopes and their letters promise homeowners that they can streamline the refinance process and even prevent foreclosure.
Once contacted by the homeowner, a sales-trained and scripted telemarketer walks the prospect through the ‘modification’ process and asks for upfront payment to begin work. In a side note, the company’s offices, not even located in Washington, DC, but California, are filled with telemarketers and have no legal team or banking connections. Once these con artists convince the homeowner to part with their last dollars for services, they disappear as quickly as they arrived on the scene and are never heard from again. They in effect, take the money and run often leaving the homeowner to face foreclosure. The US Attorney General’s office is looking into these illegal operations and we warn homeowners to only work through legitimate mortgage companies.
The report further admonished that if you are working with a mortgage modification company watch for four signs that they are NOT legitimate. If they are:
1. Asking for money in advance,
2. Boasting a 100% success rate,
3. Tell you to pay them instead of your mortgage, or
4. They claim they are working with you on behalf of the government.
The report warns homeowners to halt all conversations with them and contact the Federal Trade Commission.
Are you working through a mortgage readjustment? Is foreclosure imminent? What’s your take on mortgage readjustments? It may be time to ask for real help and talk to a certified bankruptcy attorney. Check out the full report link at ABC.com here http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerindex?id=8154152