This would have been the 45th year the "Snoopy House" would have been decorated for Christmas. I grew up around the corner and always knew Christmas was near when the house on Santa Ana Ave. was building set for the Peanuts Christmas display. This year driving by on Thanksgiving weekend, there was something missing. There were not even a sign of any activity that Snoopy was coming to town. Puzzled and confused, I was wondering what was happening. I knew the house was a rental for the past couple of years and thought maybe some sort of dispute had delayed the set-up of the Christmas display. My friend, Leann Montiel then posted the news article from the Daily Pilot in Facebook. I was shocked, saddened and upset by the news that the house had been foreclosed on and was returned to the bank. The bank is Wells Fargo and is very difficult to work with in my past experiences both personally and negotiating short sales. The saddest part of this whole ordeal is that the owner entrusted his negotiation of a work-out plan to a foreclosure scam. I was amazed that this could still be going on, that there are companies and individuals out there taking advantage of people facing foreclosure. The company "took his money and ran" according to the news article. This company or individual should be prosecuted and sentenced to life of hard labor, I would like to say a lot worse but I am trying to keep it clean. They not only took advantage of an unsuspecting homeowner facing foreclosure, but they took away an icon in our community. This icon was around for 44 years and generation upon generation enjoyed this most awesome Christmas display. This was Eastside Costa Mesa's pride. We all bragged about how we lived so close to the Snoopy house. I run across people all the time that grew up on the eastside and remember the Snoopy house and still came back to visit every year.
I also began to wonder, how many of these scams happen every single day. I wanted to include some tips for homeowners that might be facing a default situation or are in pre-foreclosure. What ever you do, PLEASE don't give anyone money upfront if you are facing a foreclosure situation. You need to talk with an attorney or CPA about your circumstances and the proper legal and safe way to try and work things out with the bank. I would also recommend calling the bank, but with how many different departments there are in a bank, it would be easier to have someone that can help navigate the maze that banks deliberately build to make it confusing for even the most experienced person dealing with these situations.
Warning Signs that the person or company might be a scam:
• Asks for money upfront before providing any service;
• Asks for payment only in the form of cash, cashier’s check, or wire transfer;
• Asks for a transfer of title or an interest in the property;
• Gives an unqualified promise to stop foreclosure or other assurances;
• Offers to buy a home for a price above its market value;
• Asks for something to be done immediately without delay;
• Asks for the homeowner to give a power of attorney;
• Asks for signatures on a grant deed or deed of trust;
• Asks for signatures without giving homeowner a lot of time to review the documents;
• Asks for signatures on a document that has lines left blank;
• Fails to provide copies of documents signed;
• Refuses or fails to provide an oral promise in writing;
• Instructs a homeowner to make mortgage payments to someone other than the lender; or
• Instructs a homeowner not to discuss the situation with the lender, housing counselor, accountant, attorney, family, friends, or others.
Where to turn for help if you are facing foreclosure:
You can call your lender. But you may also want to seek the advice of a reputable housing, financial or credit counselor, attorney, or other qualified professional. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development has a guide for those facing foreclosure at www.hud.gov/foreclosure/index.cfm and for a list of HUD-approved housing counseling agencies in California, go to
http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hcs.cfm?&webListAction=search&searchstate=CA. Also, the non-profit organization Homeownership Preservation Foundation has a 24/7 toll-free Homeowner’s HOPE Hotline at (888) 995-HOPE or visit its Web site at http://www.995hope.org.
And lastly and most importantly, the following is a list of government enforcement agencies and other organizations for reporting fraud activities. Some of these agencies and organizations are also excellent resources for obtaining more information about foreclosure-related fraud.
Office of the Attorney General
California Department of Justice
Attn. Public Inquiry Unit
P. O. Box 944255
Sacramento, California 94244-2550
(916) 322-3360
(800) 952-5225 (in California only)
http://ag.ca.gov/consumers/mailform.htm (Consumer complaints)
California Department of Real Estate
P. O. Box 187000
Sacramento, California 95818-7000
(916) 227-0864
http://www.dre.ca.gov/cons_complaint.html (Consumer complaints)
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Headquarters
J. Edgar Hoover Building
935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20535-0001
(202) 324-3000
Or contact your local FBI field office
https://tips.fbi.gov/ (FBI tips and public leads)
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Headquarters
HUD Office of Inspector General Hotline (GFI)
451 7th Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20410
(800) 347-3735
Or contact your local HUD field office
http://www.hud.gov/offices/oig/hotline/ (Office of Inspector General hotline)
Federal Trade Commission
Consumer Response Center
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20580
(877) 382-4357
http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/contact.shtm
Better Business Bureau
The Council of Better Business Bureaus
4200 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 800
Arlington, Virginia 22203-1838
Contact your local bureau
http://www.bbb.org/
Source: California Association of Realtors, Legal Department
