Foreclosures still rising and so are the scams

When someone gets that first notice of default from their bank, it really can be heart wrenching and break a person's spirit. At this point some people are looking for anyway possible to avoid a foreclosure and the embarrassment of losing their home.

Recently, I met a person that fell for one of these scams and I advised them to contact the Oregon Attorney General to hopefully get their money back and to hopefully help protect others from the same fate.

What happened? The person claimed to be a mortgage broker and befriended the home owner with the false hope of helping them. Over the next couple months, he got all their information, including social security #, in the hopes of refinancing the home and lowering the payments. What they were really doing is setting them up for an elaborate identity theft, as well plans to steal their home.

After months of not getting the home refinanced, and building trust with the home owner, they called the home owner and said, "We can't get you refinanced, but we do have another option for you!" The owner was so excited about hearing another option that didn't involve them having to move and the chance to keep their home.

This is where it went from bad to worse! They charged the seller $2000 for a title transfer, so they could put the house in the new company's name. Then you would pay rent to the company that would cover the difference between your rent and the payments on the house. At the end of two years when they "fixed your credit", they would sell your house back to you the same price you sold it to them for, plus the difference between the rent and the payments, plus another $10,000 for them.

Seems to good to be true, and it was! The title transfer never actually happened, they kept the $2000, and the checks for rent never went toward the mortgage. They were pocketed by the owners of the company and the house ended up going into foreclosure anyway. So not only was this person out $2000 for the title transfer that didn't happen, they were also out $2000 a month for rent, and then still ended up having a foreclosure on their record.

Now, you think this would be the end of the story, but from what I understand, early in the process when they took all the credit information they opened up credit cards in the home owners name and racked up an additional $15,000 in debt for the home owner.

So, if you are in default, make sure you know who you are working with, because this person didn't and ended up getting fooled and lost more than everything!

Todd Clark - broker
Kastings & Associates
Phone: (503)524-9494
Fax: (503)622-8739