People who are overwhelmed by debt are unfortunately also targets for con artists. Scammers have learned that desperate people often make rash decisions when trying to improve their financial troubles. One area where scammers prey on individuals in financial distress is by offering fraudulent foreclosure and loan modification assistance.
Although there are numerous legitimate loan modification companies, it can be extremely difficult to determine what is legit and what is a scam. The con artists have become adept at appearing to be legitimate programs, but they are really trying to cheat you out of your home, money or both!
Here are a few tips to avoid foreclosure and loan modification scams:
· Work with an attorney you can trust
· Never make mortgage payments to any party other than your mortgage lender (unless you have written approval from your mortgage lender to do so)
· Do not pay a fee to obtain information about the Making Home Affordable Program
· Never transfer over the deed to your home. Scammers often claim they can save your home if you sign over the deed to them. This is really just a tactic used to steal your property from you.
At Levitt & Slafkes, P.C., our foreclosure defense attorneys act aggressively to protect our clients from losing their homes to foreclosure. Our attorneys, Bruce Levitt and Shelley Slafkes, treat each client as an individual and effectively leverage their 30 years of knowledge and experience to craft individually customized strategies. Our firm has been involved in landmark foreclosure cases in which we successfully defended our clients against lenders’ attempts to take our clients’ homes.
Some of the options we use to fight foreclosures are loan modifications, mortgage mediations, fraud by the lender, violation of truth in lending laws, bankruptcy and several more. To learn more about how we can help you, contact our office to schedule your initial consultation.
If you would like to make your home more affordable, now is the time to schedule a free initial consultation with a New Jersey loan modification lawyer at Levitt & Slafkes, P.C. Contact our attorneys online by filling out the Contact Us form or by calling 973-323-2953 to schedule your free initial consultation.