BBB Warns Borrowers To Be Vary Of Con-artists

August 24th, 2007

Apart from sub-prime lenders who trouble homeowners by filing foreclosure suits against them, frauds or con actors are also giving homeowners hard times.

The cases of people fooled by con actors are more common in Arizona. As mentioned in the report of Better Business Bureaus released recently, there are about 1.69 million homeowners in Arizona who are on the verge of losing their dream homes in the next two years. Disheartened by this fact, home owners trust anyone who shows them some light of hope. Con actors give them assurance that they will save their property by re-negotiating the terms with the lender.

Various corrupt companies who call themselves “Mortgage Foreclosure Rescue Companies” just look for a possibility to cheat anxious people just to fill their own pockets. They approach the owners via telephones, emails, mail, or even personally, claiming that they will re-work the entire loan scheme and protect their house from foreclosure. They also take money from dejected owners promising to refund it back later. Eventually, these companies disappear with the money by doing very little or nothing at all to help the poor homeowners. Desperate house owners have even paid these con artists as much as $14,000 in some cases.

The Better Business Bureaus in Arizona have received numerous complaints about such foreclosure rescue companies from people who have been conned by them. In the past three years, there have been 112 such cases filed. Out of these, 35 cases have taken place in the last eleven months alone.

To give this matter a more serious approach, The Better Business Bureaus, with an intention to help distressed homeowners give a few suggestions:

· Be cautious of any person approaching your door with a handwritten note of help or something similar in your mailbox.

· Even if you feel like taking their help, first talk to your lender or the mortgage firm regarding re-organization of your loan scheme or any options of refinancing.

· In case you are signing any documents, then always take help from your family, your lawyer or your financial agent to access the paperwork. Never give away the ownership of the property under pressure or anxiety.

· People can locate and approach their nearest Better Business Bureau by logging on to their site http://www.arizonabbb.org/. This site provides information about the reliability of foreclosure rescue companies. People can even call them at 60226-41721. They can also confirm with the Attorney general at http://www.azag.gov/.