There are many published articles on the topic of what you should do if your home is going into foreclosure. This article is not going to discuss these issues. The purpose of this article is to tell you exactly what you shouldn’t do when facing the possibility of foreclosure.
The first thing you shouldn’t do is to sign over the deed to your home to someone else. Some despicable individuals and companies seek to take advantage of families in financial trouble by promising to get them their mortgages current. They have this bait and switch plan where they request you turn your home over to them. They then claim they will get a mortgage modification because their credit or circumstances is better than yours and thereafter they will sign the mortgage and deed back over to the beleaguered family. This is a bait and switch type of fraud designed to cause families to lose their homes. What these fraudulent companies do is refinance the property, take the equity out of the home, and thereafter let the foreclosure lawsuit proceed against the property. They then walk away from the situation leaving the homeowner in a worse situation than they were to begin with. Now there is no equity in their home, the homeowner no longer owns their home, and their options in dealing with the potential foreclosure are usually reduced or eliminated.
Do Not Ignore a Legal Document From the Bank or Their Lawyers
Facing a foreclosure lawsuit due to negative financial or personal circumstances can be difficult. It is easier to run from your life’s problems. However, ignoring the fact that your home is going into foreclosure is not a solution to your problem. This will exacerbate the problem by limiting the possibility of you and your family staying in your home. If you are contacted by your bank, mortgage company, or servicing company with requests, you should honor those requests and try to cooperate with them. If they are threatening you, you should hire a foreclosure attorney to advise you on how to deal with the situation. Competent, experienced foreclosure defense lawyers have developed a variety of techniques to help beleaguered homeowners stay in their homes.
Be Leery of Mortgage Modification Companies That Promise Stellar Results
There are many mortgage modification companies marketing their services to the public in the United States. Many of these companies more or less claim if you are breathing we will get you a mortgage modification. These companies are taking advantage of families in trouble. They present success rates which are usually unrealistic. Mortgage modification companies are no more successful in obtaining mortgage modifications for their customers than homeowners who submit mortgage modifications on their own. Many of these modification companies are hustlers taking advantage of people by asking for large up front fees based on false promises. Be sure to check with your local bar association, or the Better Business Bureau before hiring an attorney or mortgage modification company that claims they will get you a mortgage modification or stop your foreclosure from moving forward.
In a case before Justice Yvonne Lewis sitting in the Supreme Court Foreclosure Part in Kings County, defendant Ellery Beaver LLC brought an application for summary judgment seeking the discharge of HSBC’s mortgage on their property. HSBC brought a cross application for dismissal of the action by the plaintiff.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is reviewing new regulations which will put the brakes on a contentious practice called mandatory arbitration. Under mandatory arbitration rules, consumers must take disputes they have with financial institutions to third party mediators. This prevents them from going into courts and presenting their issues to judges. Consumer advocates feel this practice benefits large financial institutions, credit card issuers and financial service providers to the detriment of consumers.
