| |
Crackdown on Housing Scams
According to the Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, the US consumers looking to avoid foreclosure need to be on guard against the scam artists on the prowl. He has further announced a multiagency action against the foreclosure rescue and loan modification scams. As per a survey conducted by the Federal Trade Commission, there are about 71 suspicious home rescue plans circulating in the market.
There have been instances when FTC had to file cases to stop some illegal practices adopted by some individuals and companies. Reportedly, one company alone spent $9 million in less than a year in TV and radio ads. The FTC says that the consumers should especially be skeptical of those companies that guarantee results, or charge upfront fees as these have largely failed to keep their promises.
These are the outfits that are under the FTC scanner for their illegal conducts. Either the FTC has obtained or is seeking temporary restraining order against these companies:
1. Federal Loan Modification Law Center or FedMod The company charges an upfront fee from $1,000 to $3,000 and often fails to deliver the results.
2. There are two sites: Bailout.hud-gov.us and Bailout.dohgov.us that give the false impression of being associated with the government, thus misleading the consumers throughout the country.
3. Expert Foreclosure, which is owned by Home Assure, charges upfront fees of $1,500 to $2,500 to stop the foreclosures but fails to give refunds when the foreclosure process is not stopped.
4. The two companies Hope Now Modifications LLC and New Hope Property LLC gave the impression that they were associated with the HUD endorsed organization Hope Now, which was not true.
Consumers are also warned that any reputable housing counselors will not guarantee that the foreclosure process can be stopped, irrespective of the circumstances of the consumers.
Service Loan Modification is the loan modification arm of Lending Century, a reputed, professionally managed real estate finance company. We are DRE approved, and provide ethical and totally legal loan modification solutions to borrowers.
|
