Vail Valley Residents are Warned About Foreclosure scams

December 4th, 2009

Vail valley residents are warned about foreclosure scams. It is always advisable to be on one’s guard if someone approaches the victim with promises that are too good to be true – because usually they are not. The homeowners should be careful about nefarious schemes assuring them of saving their homes from foreclosure. In recent years many such fraudsters have sprung up and the homeowners smelling trouble should immediately take the help of the law.
There is a surfeit of scams. The Federal Trade Commission warns that foreclosure scammers are professionals in their line of so-called rescue schemes. Their solitary goal is to cheat the house owner of whatever money he has left. Often they target the taking over of the house.

The preliminary work of the scammers is to do their homework by getting to know from public information channels about the owners facing foreclosure. Next they dispatch personal notes to the victims. They also resort to advertising themselves through the general media channels. The scammers make promises about helping the borrowers retain their homes promising better deals with the lenders.
Behind these promises there is a catch. The victims are expected to pay fees ahead of any action. Sometimes the money has to be paid directly while they do the talking with the lender. Once the money is taken the scam artists vanish with nil results to show.

There are other tactics. The individuals have to ink papers that lead to the surrendering of the title to their property to the trickster. Another scheme is allowing the owner to stay on as a renter in their own houses after the surrender of the title. The victims are tempted because they are made to believe that within a short lapse of time they would be able repurchase their house. But the agreement terms are grossly against such a thing happening – rather the equity position is allowed to get worse. Once the victim defaults he or she is swiftly evicted.

Sometimes the house owner facing foreclosure is told that there is a purchaser for the unit. The owner is now asked to transfer the title. The cheat then rents the house and keeps the gains while the foreclosure goes on its track as usual. What is more damaging is that the house owner is held accountable for the unpaid mortgage dues because the transferring of the title does not erase the loan obligations.