Foreclosure Predators in Colorado

Homeowners falling behind on their payments are also falling victim to foreclosure predators. Once a property owner has missed two or three monthly payments, a lender routinely files a public notice of default with the county recorder’s office. This is the road to formal foreclosure. Scam artists simply have to read the notices to find possible victims. They then descend on the homeowners with an outstretched hand and offer to help, and trick them into signing over title to their homes. Usually, the rescuer is a stranger, who contacts them with a “great offer” to save their home. They say that they or another third party can temporarily “share” or assume title to the homeowner’s property That way, with someone else’s name on the title, struggling homeowners can refinance and improve their credit. And then once their credit is repaired, they would get sole title back. But in reality, this is when the second round of trouble starts. Victims find that their name has been removed from the title with no hope of return. The best defense against the foreclosure pirates is knowledge. Read about the various types of scams that can be used to deprive you of your home, such as equity skimming, equity stripping, phony counseling agencies, lender scams, phony loan transactions, loan flipping, and Internet and phone scams. There are dozens of ways to save your house from foreclosure but that those in desperate times too frequently jump at bad deals. The rule of thumb is “Never do business with anyone who comes to your door or calls you out of the blue or sends you a flier. It’s so bad out there that you can’t afford to trust a Stranger. Recently Homes And People was contacted by a "private investing firm" specializing in helping home owners adversely affected by market conditions rent their homes while they get back on their feet. At first glance it sounded like a reasonable way to ride out the market, but further investigation made it clear to us that this company is trying to filter out home owners with equity in their homes and separate them from their money. For obvious reasons we will not disclose all the details of this scam, but rest assure we reported it to the proper authorities. As a residential real estate firm we will be happy to assist you and help you overcome some of the challenges of the market, and as always we are happy to advise on what to do and not to do in your particular situation.