Avoiding Foreclosure Services Scams

There are an astounding number of homeowners facing foreclosure at present and these numbers are on the rise; so it shouldn't be surprising that foreclosure services are coming out of the woodwork. Some foreclosure services are merely financial counseling services, while others claim to be full-service companies which can stop foreclosure. Naturally, all of these foreclosure services are trying to get your attention and to convince you that they and they alone can help you to prevent foreclosure; but a lot of these companies are after only one thing – your money! 

Foreclosure is a difficult enough situation to deal with; and having to sort the scams from the legitimate services makes it even more stressful. Not all foreclosure services are scams, but there are many unscrupulous operators out there. Once you know what to watch out for, you'll be prepared to keep from becoming duped by a foreclosure scam.

• Research is the best defense against these scammers. Before you work with any foreclosure service, look into the company. It's easy to look up these companies online; you can find out about lawsuits or complaints which have been filed against the foreclosure service and what their customers are saying about them.

• Don't do business with any foreclosure service that asks you to pay upfront. If they want you to pay them before they do anything about your foreclosure, keep looking; there are plenty of scammers who will take your money and promptly disappear.

• Always read the fine print in the materials foreclosure services offer you. Make sure that you have read and understood everything. There are some scammers who have used the fine print to trick their victims into signing over their homes! Always read everything for yourself and don't take the foreclosure service's word for it.

• You should keep in touch with your lender throughout the process – and beware of any foreclosure service which tells you not to talk to your lender while using their services to stop foreclosure. Your lender must be involved in any sort of resolution to your foreclosure problem, so if you hear otherwise from a foreclosure service, they're almost certainly trying to scam you.

• You should never, EVER sign over your home to a foreclosure service. Some of these services will try to convince you that this is the best way to go and that they will rent your home to you until you are able to buy it back from them. What they'll really do is evict you and sell your home!