reBlog from keepmyhouse.com: Loan Modification Blog | Keep My House | Mortgage Modifications

I found this fascinating quote today:

According to United Law Group, representatives from Bank of America are telling the law firm’s clients that United has not contacted them and that they have not received any notices and legal demands on their behalf. In response to those claims, United Law Group — a provider of legal foreclosure prevention and foreclosure litigation service — today announced that it filed a complaint in the Superior Court of the State of California County of Orange Central Justice Center against Bank of America and its subsidiary Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. for tortuous interference with contract, defamation (slander) and unfair business practices.keepmyhouse.com, Loan Modification Blog | Keep My House | Mortgage Modifications

You should read the whole article.

BANKS, LENDERS, Partner with FTC in avoiding Modification SCAMS

FTC’s Consumer Outreach Efforts

The FTC announced a new education initiative to reach borrowers directly with the help of a broad array of government, non-profit organizations, and mortgage industry members. Through this initiative, borrowers will receive materials about how to spot and avoid mortgage rescue scams at housing counseling outreach centers, directly from their mortgage companies, and online. Joining the FTC in the effort are The HOPE NOW Alliance, the Homeowners Preservation Foundation, and NeighborWorks America, which are non-profit organizations that work to help distressed homeowners get free help and counseling through HUD-certified housing counselors, all of whom work directly with borrowers to help them stay in their homes.

Several national mortgage companies, including Chase Home Lending, Suntrust Mortgage, and GMAC Mortgage, will be voluntarily sending consumer education information directly to consumers through a variety of methods, including during loan counseling sessions, in monthly statements, in correspondence to delinquent borrowers, and on their Web sites. Freddie Mac also is distributing consumer education materials to its servicing partners.

In addition to the New Hope Modifications and Hope Now Modification cases filed last month, the Commission today announced complaints were filed against the following defendants:

FedMod – Federal Loan Modification Law Center LLP doing business as Federal Loan Modification Law Center and under other various other names; Anz & Associates, PLC; LegalTurn, Inc.; Federal Loan Modification LLC; Boaz Minitzer, Nabile Anz, and Jeffrey Broughton. The FTC would like to thank the Attorneys General of California and Idaho, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of the Southland, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and the Spokane, Washington BBB for their invaluable assistance in this case. This case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Bailout.hud-gov.us – bailout.hud-gov.us, bailout.dohgov.us, and Thomas Ryan. This case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Home Assure – Home Assure, LLC, B Home Associates, LLC, doing business as (dba) Expert Foreclosure, Michael Grieco, Michael Trimarco, Nicholas Molina, and Brian Blanchard. The defendants also have been the subject of law enforcement actions or investigations by the Minnesota, North Carolina, and Florida Attorneys General. This case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division.

The Commission vote to issue each complaint was 4-0.

Short Scam Story 3 (from the FTC Website)

Home Assure d/b/a Expert Foreclosure. In this case, the FTC alleges that the defendants promise consumers facing imminent home foreclosure that they can stop the foreclosure, regardless of the amount the consumer owes his or her lender. The defendants are charged with falsely claiming that they have special relationships with lenders, have helped thousands of consumers avoid foreclosure, and will provide a 100 percent satisfaction money-back guarantee. They typically charge consumers an up-front fee of $1,500 to $2,500 but, the FTC alleges, do little or nothing to help them avoid foreclosure and fail to give refunds when foreclosures are not stopped.

Hope Now Modifications LLC and New Hope Property LLC d/b/a New Hope Modifications LLC.On March 24, the FTC announced two related cases alleging that the defendants misled consumers about their ability to provide mortgage loan modification and foreclosure relief, and misrepresented that they were affiliated with or part of the HOPE NOW Alliance, the non-profit, HUD-endorsed organization that is a broad-based coalition of credit and home ownership counselors, lenders, and other mortgage market participants. In each case, the court issued a temporary restraining order with an asset freeze and set dates for a preliminary injunction hearing. The New Jersey Attorney General also filed state court actions against both sets of defendants, and those cases are in litigation. The FTC’s press release is available at:http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/03/newhope.shtm.

Short Scam Story 2 (from the FTC Website)

Bailout.hud-gov.us. According to the FTC’s complaint, defendant Thomas Ryan used a foreign Internet registrar to falsely register two sites – bailout.hud-gov.us and bailout.dohgov.us. The sites were used to entice financially strapped consumers to seek mortgage loan modification services under the guise that the services were associated with, or were actually, the U.S. government, including HUD and the Treasury Department. The FTC alleges that the defendant misled consumers nationwide. A federal district court granted the FTC’s motion for a temporary restraining order which required the Internet Service Provider (ISP) hosting the sites to immediately remove them from the Internet. The FTC and the defendant stipulated to a preliminary injunction prohibiting him from holding himself out as an agency of any U.S., state, or local government, or as being affiliated with any such agency

Short Scam Story 1 (from the FTC Website)

FedMod markets mortgage loan modification and foreclosure relief services to homeowners who are in financial distress, delinquent on their mortgages, or in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure. According to the FTC’s complaint, FedMod charges consumers from $1,000 to $3,000 in fees for these services, much of which must be paid up-front, but fails in numerous instances to obtain the promised loan modifications. In radio advertisements, the FTC alleges, FedMod induces homeowners to call its toll-free number by misrepresenting that it is part of or affiliated with the federal government, although it is not. According to the complaint, FedMod often fails to answer or return consumers’ calls or provide updates about the status of their loan modifications, and assures consumers that negotiations with their lenders are proceeding when, in fact, little or no effort has been made to contact the lender.

First lets go over scams...

Here are some of the scams out there

FORECLOSURE RESCUE SCAMS

As property values continue to decline across the country, fraudulent “foreclosure consultants” (con artists) target homeowners who are behind on their mortgage payments. Here's what you can do to avoid becoming a victim:

1.DO NOT pay your mortgage payments to someone other than your lender, even if they promise to pass the payment on to the lender. Fraudulent foreclosure consultants often keep the money for themselves and disappear.

2.DO NOT sell your house or transfer he title to the “foreclosure rescuer”. These fraudulent foreclosure consultants often promise that if you transfer the title to them, you may stay in your home as renters and buy it back later. This is a common scheme used to evict homeowners and steal all or most of their home's equity.

3. DO NOT sign any documents without reading and understanding them first. If the document is too complex, seek advice from a lawyer or an approved, trusted financial counselor. Never sign documents with blank spaces that can be filled in later by the other party or one that contains errors or false statements, even if someone promises to correct them later. Get promises in writing and keep copies of all contracts you sign. Many homeowners think that they are signing documents for a new loan to pay off the mortgage they are behind on. Later, they discover that they actually transferred ownership to the "foreclosure rescuer".

If you think this may have happened to you, you may be a victim of a crime and need to file a complaint with your States' Attorney General's Public Inquiry Unit. Reporting con artists and suspicious schemes helps prevent others from becoming victims.