Mortgage scammers can bust your trust in the mortgage market

The mortgage scammers are all over the mortgage market prying in for entry into the house of a distressed. The incidence of mortgage scams have increased manifold and more and more people are falling prey to these scammers.

The 3 most prominent types of mortgage fraud committed by the mortgage scammers include the following –

• Phantom Help

Phantom Help is a kind of mortgage fraud where the rescuer will charge very high fees just for making phone calls and taking care of the paperwork that could have been done by the homeowner too. The mortgage scammer will promise the homeowner that he will be represented by him to ease out the financial burden. The rescuer or the scammer also insists that the homeowner shouldn’t pay heed to the notices he receives from the lenders. This ultimately causes the house to go into foreclosure.

• Bait and Switch

Bait and Switch is a mortgage fraud that most of the mortgage scammers resort to. In this case, the scammers appear as legal housing counselors and are equipped with loads of documents. The scammers pretend they will help the homeowner with a new loan that will solve the problems of the homeowner. In reality, the scammers get the documents signed by the homeowner that will transfer ownership of the property to the mortgage scammers.

• Equity Stripping

This is a kind of mortgage fraud in which the homeowner is given the impression that he is trying to help the homeowner. The homeowner is convinced that he can continue residing in the house as a renter till the time “things don’t normalize” again and that the house can be bought back thereafter. In this context, the mortgage scammers take away the home. However, in due course the scammers deplete the house of it’s’ equity and compels the homeowner to lose the house in the long run.

Develop awareness about mortgage scams

You can do the following to avert being ripped off by mortgage scammers.

• If you fall behind on payment, make sure you talk to your lender and convey the reason for your delinquency

• If you have received a “deficiency notice”, take necessary measures to resolve the problem of non payment.

• Be informed about the laws pertaining to foreclosure in your state.