William Alston

Our current Real Estate market is difficult enough to understand without the added anxiety of criminals running financial scams on desperate homeowners. Many people are burdened by the weight of large California mortgage loans and are fearful that their property will be foreclosed upon. Now more than ever, criminals are preying on homeowners who are eager to save their properties and their credit.

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) describes how many con artists promise to help homeowners avoid foreclosure using a variety of tactics.

Common Scams Ran on Homeowners

One common scam begins with a criminal pretending to represent a California mortgage company. This impostor claims that he can prevent foreclosure, and demands money upfront (an immediate red flag for any Real Estate transaction). In this scenario, a homeowner pays money for a service that he could have done himself--namely making calls and filling out paperwork. None of the tasks this expert claims to perform prevent foreclosure in any way.

In another popular scam, a criminal offers to assume payments on the difficult California mortgage rates for a desperate homeowner. The owner signs over the deed to the property, believing he is no longer responsible for the debt he has accrued on the property. The criminal assumes "ownership" of the property, either renting it out or living there himself, but never actually makes mortgage payments as promised. The property eventually goes into foreclosure. Unfortunately for the previous homeowner, simply signing the deed to a property over to someone else does not relieve him of his responsibilities to pay back California mortgage lenders.

To avoid these and other scams, HUD recommends that you visit their website directly at HUD.gov. There are many variations of this URL that con artists use to trick homeowners. Make sure you know exactly who you are dealing with before you make any decisions which will affect your property and financial situation.