Foreclosure Article


Predatory Lending Schemes and Scams

Beware Of Predatory Lending Schemes

Most mortgage lenders are reputable and provide a valuable service by allowing families to own a home without saving the thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars necessary to buy it outright. However, a few, unscrupulous lenders, especially those who make high risk second mortgages, engage in predatory lending practices that can increase the likelihood that a borrower will lose his or her home to foreclosure. These abusive practices include making a mortgage loan to an individual who does not have the income to repay it, charging excessive interest, points and fees or repeatedly refinancing a loan without providing any real value to the borrower.

Borrowers facing unemployment and/or foreclosure are frequent targets of predatory lenders because they are desperate to find any "solution" to their default.

Homeowners frequently receive refinance offers in the mail telling them that they have been "pre-approved" for credit based on the equity in their home. When you are wondering how you are going to pay your mortgage and other bills, it may appear very attractive to borrow against your house. But consider this, if you cannot make your current payments, increasing your debt, even if you get some temporary cash, will make it harder to keep your home.

Beware of Scams:

  • Equity skimming: a buyer offers to repay the mortgage or sell the property if you sign over the deed and move out.
  • Phony counseling agencies. Some groups calling themselves "counseling agencies" may approach you and offer to perform certain services for a fee. These could well be services you could do for yourself for free, such as negotiating a new payment plan with your lender, or pursuing a pre-foreclosure sale. If you have any doubt about paying for such services, call a HUD-approved housing counseling agency at (800) 569-4287 or TDD (800) 877-8339. Do this before you pay anyone or sign anything. Don't sign any papers you don't fully understand.
  • Make sure you get all "promises" in writing.
  • Beware of any contract of sale of loan assumption where you are not formally released from liability for your mortgage debt.
  • Check with a lawyer or your mortgage company before entering into any deal involving your home.
  • If you're selling the house yourself to avoid foreclosure, check to see if there are any complaints against the prospective buyer. You can contact the Arizona Office of the Attorney General Consumer Fraud Unit for this type of information.
  • Do not sign anything you do not understand. It is your right and duty to ask questions.
  • Information is your best defense against becoming a victim of predatory lending especially for a desperate homeowner! 

Where to Report Suspected Predatory Lending – homeowners can contact the Arizona Office of the Attorney General, or call 1(800) 352-8431 to get information on what steps to take to file a complaint. You may also want to look at Predatory Lending Brochure from the Office of the Attorney General. 

For more information about Predatory Lending go to:

HUD's Predatory Lending Web Site

Attached Document
.pdf Predatory Lending Schemes and Scams


Comments:

QUESTIONS

  • My friend has a friend who is losing her house through foreclosure. She paid an attorney $8,000.00 for assistance, and the attorney hasn't helped her in any advice, in over a month. Now she's worried that someone from the sheriff's Dept., is going to lock her out. She has 3 pets, is now broke, has no place to go, and all her belongings are still in her house. Can she request the sheriff's Dept., to give her an extention, until she can find a place to say, and to put her belongings somewhere else? And if so... how long can the extention be, at most? She lives in Phoenix, Az. Thank you~
  • My home is currently in foreclose. Where can I find assistance to save my house?
  • I bought a timeshare in Nevada, but due to my husbands remission of cancer and my multiple sclerosis, we can no longer make the payments. If they foreclose on the timeshare can they garnish my wages in Arizona
  • I filed Chapter13 approx 2years ago. We chose to surrender our home and the Trustee sent a letter to the mortgage company, lifting the stay so they could proceed with foreclosure. The mortgage company sold the mortgage to another company, that company sold it to another. The new mortgage company says we are still the owners. Where do we stand legally and how long can this go on?
  • I own a property, not my main residence, that was part of a 2010 C7 bankruptcy. We reaffirmed and kept the property. We have made all of the payments since, but in the past year our finances have declined. We have tried to rent the property without much success and we have paid over $6000 above the properties income to maintain it. It is empty again and we simply cannot continue to pay the mortgage and HOA any more. It is worth about what I owe. Can I allow the property to go to foreclosure or short sale after being part of a bankruptcy?
  • Is a single unit in a large condominium complex treated the same as a single family residence under the AZ anti-deficiency statutes?
  • Can a bank foreclose on a house if multiple people are on the deed, but only one person is on the mortgage
  • Can I file for bankruptcy?
  • I have a trustee sale date on my house 10/10/2013. Have a review for the Dept. of Justice modification still in review. Have had 9+ letter/certificates from (Proper name redacted) , paperwork has been filed with the maricopa County Recorders office as well of Foreclosure listed on my credit report. I am job hunting as well and many employers put in requirements a credit check so this makes it even more difficult for employment. I want to keep my home and receive an "affordable" modification ,not one which is higher than my original payment. Please advise help for me. Thankyou...
  • I have resigned my job due to health issues, relocating to the east coast to live with family, and can not make my house payment, willing to surrender the house to Bank for short sale, or whatever they want to do. How do I start this process. The house will not sell for what I owe the bank, negative equity situation.

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OTHER LEGAL RESOURCES

  • State Bar of Arizona
    www.azbar.org
  • Maricopa County Bar
    www.maricopabar.org
    Referral number 602-257-4434
  • Pima County Bar
    www.pimacountybar.org
    Referral number 520-623-4625
  • National Domestic Violence Hotline
    800-799-7233
  • Bankruptcy Court Self Help Center
    866-553-0893
  • Certified Legal Document Preparer Program
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