Often the companies in these ads will misrepresent themselves as being a government agency or being officially sponsored by a government agency. They’re kind of like the old regular mail letters that look like a bill, legal notice or a tax refund. While their offer may be legitimate and they may have fine print disclosure statements that disassociate them from any government affiliation, any company using such marketing tactics should immediately raise red flags.

The most common scam is asking for money upfront for a service that’s offered free by the government or that is essentially nonexistent and/or useless. Of course, there are legitimate reasons why some money might be required upfront, such as hiring a lawyer on retainer, but you should know in these cases exactly what service your hard earned money is paying for. Always use caution and due diligence when contracting for such services. Make sure that you aren’t being sold something that’s available for free elsewhere. Also make sure that the services offered will be of value to you and are legitimate.

The worse mortgage reduction scam is a variation of an old investment con technique. While this con was previously used with the elderly on a fixed income, the bad housing market has shifted this down the age bracket to middle age people looking for mortgage relief. In this ripoff, the homeowner signs up for a payment reduction service and, instead of sending money to their bank, their ‘reduced’ monthly payment is sent to the scammer. The con artists pocket this money and the hapless homeowner may not even know they’ve been tricked until the sheriff shows up at their door with an eviction notice.

While there are legitimate companies that can help a troubled homeowner negotiate payment plans and help them manage payments, I have to strongly caution you against using any such plans. One of the keys to improving your financial condition is taking charge of your money yourself. Don’t let others, especially those who may have a profit motive, control your money. In my opinion, the only reason why you should ever lose this control is a bankruptcy or a serious long term illness. But, if you do decide to give this power to someone else, use extreme caution and carefully review the company and their track record.

Lastly, don’t assume that just because you see an ad on Google or another search engine, Facebook or another social site, a news site like MSNBC or Yahoo News or a simple blog like mine that it’s been completely checked out. These con artists are almost as good at fooling advertising space providers as they are consumers. While there is probably more that content providers could do to avoid showing ads for bogus mortgage modifications, remember, when all is said and done, it’s up to you to avoid falling for these scams. Don’t let your desperation lead you into worse financial problems.

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First, the rising number of homes for sale puts a drag on home prices that will be difficult to overcome for some time. This creates a difficult environment if you need to sell your home, even as a short sale, or refinance a home loan since it keeps home prices low. Even if you live in an area that isn’t as badly impacted, your home value will suffer too. While some home ownership tracking agencies report a tapering off of new foreclosures in heavily hit areas the current inventory glut means that the recovery of home prices is going to be pushed out several years.

However, the news that foreclosures in areas where there was a significant price bubble and many sub-prime loans isn’t getting worse has to be weighed against the news that prime, mainstream, home loans are being affected at an increasing rate. Homeowners who had good credit and a once solid earnings history are now beginning to default in increasing numbers due to job loss and other such factors related to the recession.

On top of this news, banks and other mortgage loan companies are beginning to move faster on foreclosures. Last year, many were under political pressure from the Obama administration and Congress to hold off on foreclosures. Now, with the new financial reform law passed and Democrats set to lose some control in Washington after the 2010 elections, this pressure appears to be reduced. Also, bank loan analysts have had enough time to discover if a loan is worth salvaging under various foreclosure relief programs. This means that banks are more prone to enforce their foreclosure rights now than they were a few months ago. The net effect is that strategic defaults and other delaying tactics which allowed people to stay in their homes for months or even a year or more without making a payment aren’t going to work now.

Unfortunately, all of this new foreclosure activity has caused an increase in the number of foreclosure relief scams. Be wary of anyone trying to sell you a program that encourages you to use dodgy techniques to forestall foreclosure. Banks have become wise to these tricks and are moving ahead with foreclosure if they think a home loan can’t be saved.

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Just mailing the keys to the mortgage holder, aka “jingle mail”, and walking away is a bad idea. After all, you signed a contract to make payments on the home loan as agreed. If you find yourself unable to meet these obligations there a number of remedies you can pursue to discharge the home loan debt properly.

Naturally, you may feel frustrated with your situation. Many inexperienced borrowers found them tricked into taking on loans that they were obviously going not be able to pay back. Even experienced borrowers have been hurt by the boom and bust of housing prices. However, the excesses and mistakes of the past don’t discharge the debt. Even if you were a victim of predatory lending practices or out and out fraud, you still need to go through proper legal procedures. In short, you have to follow the rules in order to properly deal with your problem. Walking away from your home loan obligations isn’t following the rules. Remember, it is in both your best interest and the interest of the mortgage holder for you to stay in your home and paying a mortgage.

In some cases, you might be able to qualify for a loan modification that would allow you to stay in your home with a mortgage that’s been modified to better fit your financial situation. The government has recently created a $75 billion program to help people with out of control home loans. You should contact your mortgage company to discover if you qualify for this home loan modification program.

However, if you can’t qualify for a home loan modification then you will need to try for a short sale. This is where, with the agreement of the financial institution that holds the mortgage, you sell your home for less than what you owe, typically at the current market value, and the bank agrees to forgive the difference. These days it can be difficult to find a qualified buyer who can get a home loan even at the reduced prices.

In this case, the home loan lender may be willing to accept a deed in lieu of foreclosure. When this happens, you sign the house back over to the mortgage company and they forgive some or all of the debt you owe. You will need to work out the deals of this agreement with the mortgage holder. If at all possible you will want to have some qualified legal representation to help you through this process. Some former homeowners who’ve done a deed in lieu of foreclosure have found themselves still on the hook for thousands of dollars due to a bad agreement.

Another thing to understand about a short sale or a deed in lieu of foreclosure is that it will place a serious bad mark on your credit for several years. It will typically be 2-3 years before you can easily borrow money again for even small things like a credit card or vehicle and most likely 5-7 years before you can qualify for another home loan. Also, there are tax implications when a debt is forgiven. You may end up owning a big tax bill as well so make sure that you examine this aspect too.

If you can’t work out a deed in lieu of foreclosure agreement this only leaves foreclosure itself and bankruptcy. This isn’t a great option for either you or the mortgage holder. This is the result of a failed negotiation, either on your part, the bank’s part, or of both parties. My recommendation is that if you find your home loan in trouble that you begin seeking alternatives to foreclosure with your mortgage holder as soon as possible.

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The traditional advice given by financial experts is for a troubled homeowner to contact their lender as soon as they begin to fall behind on their mortgage. After all, it’s assumed that the lender wants to do everything they can to avoid an expensive foreclosure. Does this assumption still hold true in today’s real estate market? The experiences of many troubled homeowners seems to indicate that this is no longer the case. They’ve found the path to obtaining a lower interest rate or more manageable payment to be very frustrating.

The cause for this is really rather simple, there’s no financial incentive for a lender to offer a loan modification to most homeowners. As it turns out, many lenders aren’t really lenders at all. What they actually are is a loan servicer. This means that they essentially take the mortgage payments and distribute these payments to the actual investors.

Most home loans over the past 10 years have been bundled and sold as an investment instrument. This has created a market for loan servicers, companies or divisions at banks, which simply manage the accounts and are paid a commission for doing so. They don’t have the legal authority to modify conditions of the loan. All they can negotiate are repayment in full plans or forbearance plans.

The actual owners of the home loan are the hundreds or even thousands of investors who own a part of many loans. They would all have to agree to change the terms of a mortgage contract and this is unlikely to happen. Thus, the loan servicer has a strong incentive to stall or delay any kind of loan modification. Why? Because they get paid a commission to do it. They get paid by the investors for their collection efforts up until the actual sale or foreclosure. However, they will not profit if a loan is modified.

The first step to avoiding frustration in the loan modification process is to determine who your mortgage holder really is. If your mortgage has been sold as part of a security, the chances of you being able to get a loan modification is rather low. In this case, you should prepare yourself for other options, such as a short sale, deed in lieu of foreclosure or a foreclosure, or find a way to bring your mortgage current and continue to keep it current.

There could be changes in the law that would remove the financial incentive for mortgage loan servicers. Several have been proposed in Congress, the Obama administration and the SEC. However, until the law is changed troubled homeowners, their communities and the actual mortgage investors will continue to have a no-win situation on their hands when it comes to mortgage loan modifications.

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Begin by going over all of your home loan documents so that you are prepared for any upcoming resets or other changes to the conditions of your loan. When will your payments increase? By how much? Can you refinance? What kind of penalty would you face for refinancing, if there is any?

You may need to make significant changes in your spending and lifestyle in order to keep your home and maintain your credit in good standing. You may need to consider taking on a second job to help make your payments. Avoid making any major purchases at this time when you are facing financial hardship and the economy is uncertain. Think about selling other assets if you can, such as cars or boats, so that you can use this cash to assist you in meeting your payments.

You should always take the initiative with your home loan lender. It is important that you contact them before the problem becomes overwhelming to you. Should you receive calls or letters from your lender it is imperative that you  respond to them as soon as possible. Do not wait to get too far behind. Lenders are less likely to move quickly into foreclosure if you have been proactive and show that you’re working to make your payments. You will want to speak to the right people. This can be tricky because of the way home loans are resold but be persistent. Ask for the loss mitigation or collections department. It is key for you to be completely honest with them about your situation. Also, don’t make promises to them that you can’t keep even if they pressure you in to accepting unfavorable terms.

You should beware of foreclosure rescue scams and other related rackets. There are a number of scam artists who target people in neighborhoods where foreclosure rates have been high. Their typical approach with troubled homeowners is to promise to help them keep their houses. The trick is that these mortgage loan rescues often come with payments which are out of reach of the average homeowner. This results in the homeowner being defrauded of their home and often still owing the original mortgage amount. Should any company approach you with such an offer make sure that you check them out through the Better Business Bureau as well as your state real estate commission and Attorney General. Do not sign anything without reading it all and get all promises in writing. Ask your attorney or other real estate financial professional to review any paperwork before you sign it. And remember that if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

Another approach is to contact a nonprofit group that offers free housing advice specific to your area. This is a good way to get more information and financial counseling. They may be able to help you with your options. If you took out a loan between Jan. 1 2005 and July 30, 2007, are current on your loan payments and your mortgage has not yet reset to a higher rate, you may be eligible for a five year rate freeze.

If all else fails, you can always try to negotiate a short sale. If you have missed more than two payments but your home has not yet gone into foreclosure this is the right time for you to find out if you can sell your home for a price that falls short of what you owe the lender on your original home loan. Should your mortgage holder agree to accept the sales price and forgive the rest of your debt, they forgo the pricey foreclosure process and save money. As for you,  you will walk away with only minimal damage to your credit score in most cases.

I hope this article has provided you with some important information on how to avoid home loan foreclosure.

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