Finance Articles

Home Loans and Mortgages – Beware of New "Mortgage Elimination" Scam

The booming real estate market has allowed many Americans to become "equity rich." They may not have a lot of cash on hand, but they might have equity in their homes worth several hundred thousand dollars or more. Unfortunately, this increase in home wealth has spawned an equally booming business in equity theft, as more and more thieves find increasingly clever ways to con homeowners out of their equity, their homes, or both. One clever new scam involves companies that promise to completely "eliminate" a homeowner's mortgage. For a fee of a few thousand dollars, these companies claim that a homeowner can have a free and clear title to their home without paying off the remaining debt. How does this scam work?

This scam is a bit more complicated than other scams that often use simple forgery of identity theft. In this "mortgage elimination" scam, the homeowner places his home in a trust with the mortgage elimination company as the trustee. The trustee files a long, tedious, frivolous, letter of complaint with the mortgage company, giving them a mere ten days to respond. Should the mortgage company not respond within ten days, and they frequently do not, the trust claims that they are then free of the mortgage obligation. Using a questionable power of attorney procedure, the trust then files with the local register of deeds for a release of the home's title. This makes it appear that the home is now owned without a lien.

The legalities of this range from murky and questionable to outright fraud. It gets even worse when the trustee, claiming clear title to the home, takes out a home equity loan, cashes the check, and promptly disappears. The resulting mess often leaves the original homeowner with a pile of lawsuits, numerous visits from the police and the obligation to pay two mortgages. This scam is currently going on only in certain parts of the country, and isn't yet widespread. Homeowners can easily avoid being taken by this scam by simply recognizing one simple truth – you cannot simply waive a mortgage obligation away without paying off the loan. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true.

©Copyright 2005 by Retro Marketing. Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including End-Your-Debt.com, a Website devoted to debt consolidation information and HomeEquityHelp.net, a site devoted to information on home equity loans.

Other Article Sites

findabook.com  moneycd.info  a-mortgage.info   about-lemon-laws.info  aboutstudentloans.info
all-about-publishing.info  auctions-articles.info  bestcollege-university.com  bestispconnection.com
biblefolder.com  blogger-website.com  books-used.info  brokers-guide.info  buywindows.info  cable-dsl.info
career-miner.com  carpel-tunnel.info  cashinaflash.info  cashloanreviews.info  casinobell.com  chat-house.info
clearmycredit.info  collegeloantips.info  crones.info  depression-articles.info   dirnic.net  dishguides.info
divers-below.com  expodog.info   financewizz.com  fire-insurance.info  getgood.info  handleit.net   it-idea.info
health-supplies.info  hosting-right.com  insidealert.com  insurance-facts.info  jobs-employment.info
justgood.info  lookgold.net   lowcost-travel.info  money-source.info  myhostzone.info  numisblog.com
peoplesearchfinder.info  pr-articles.info  realeas.com   refinancing-guides.info  spyware-remove.info
telelot.info  the-law.info   toppaid.info  travel-deals.info  travelcorrect.com  wedding-guide-site.com
your-blog.info  your-credit.info

How to Find the Best Mortgage
The purchase of a new home is one of the most important decisions you will ever make, and finding the best type of financing for you is crucial. Mortgage financing is a very competitive industry and lenders are currently offering extremely low interest rates and a variety of flexible loan programs.

A Review Of The Netherlands Investment HYIP
The Netherlands Investment HYIP is a collection of individuals who are supposedly experienced stock market traders and market analysts After many years of being individual, professional traders, they have joined to form a force of super traders

Satisfaction of Mortgage - The Final Step to Clearing Your Property Title
LawDepot.com adds to its range of real estate documents with the Satisfaction of Mortgage.

FoundationWorks Forms Mortgage Subsidiary, EquityAccess Mortgage, Inc. July 2007
EquityAccess Mortgage will originate low rate, government and conventional mortgage loans for factory-built homes, primarily focusing on existing homeowners. EquityAccess Mortgage will be vertically integrated with the FoundationWorks permanent foundation system which has a unique, proprietary, and cost-effective method to retrofit existing foundation systems. In addition, EquityAccess will originate home only, chattel manufactured home loans as well as non-conforming loans such as single & multi section land/home loans.

Should You Get an Interest-only Home Mortgage?
Before you consider taking out an interest-only mortgage, you should first understand what they are. Unlike traditional, fixed-rate mortgages, interest-only mortgages allows the borrower to initially pay the interest on the principal for a short period of time, rather than making payments on both the principal and the interest.

Home Loan Lenders - Finding the Best Home Mortgage Lender
The process of obtaining a mortgage or home loan can be very stressful and quite time consuming. Finding the best lender for your situation requires research and comparisons between lenders and loan packages.

Hard Money Loans - Reasons Why You Might Want To Try Applying With A Subprime Mortgage Lender
Before you apply for a hard money loan, try applying with a subprime mortgage lender first for lower rates and fees. Hard money lenders charge excessive fees to high-risk borrowers, but will only lend 50% to 75% of the value of the property.

Personal Finance - Three Timeless Wealth Concepts To Impart To Your Children
Have you ever wondered why the rich get richer? Some say that it is because they can leverage on greater wealth in each successive generation. However for many, the real reason it that the rich teach their children financial skills that stay with them for life. These skills are then used with greater skill in each successive generation leading to a snowballing increase in wealth.

Advantages and Disadvantages Of A Reverse Mortgage
Betty and John, are in their mid-seventies and are currently weighing the advantages and disadvantages of a reverse mortgage as a way of freeing up some cash. The couple purchased their home 45 years ago for about $14,000 since then home values have skyrocketed and recent single family homes in their neighborhood have been selling for a minimum of $160,000.

UK Buy To Let Investors Hit Hard By Cash Strapped Mortgage Lenders
The number of mortgage products that are available to property buyers has decreased by almost 75% since April 2007 Lenders are making it increasingly more difficult for the first time investor to enter the buy to let market

125% Home Equity Loans Now Close Concurrently with a 100% First-Second Mortgage Refinance from BD Nationwide
BD Nationwide Mortgage introduces the "125% Home Equity Refinance Loan Combination" for refinancing 1st and 2nd mortgages into a new 100% first mortgage with a 125% home equity loan that funds simultaneously. The latest home equity product from BD Nationwide helps homeowners refinance their adjustable rate mortgage to 100% loan-to-value and enables them to consolidate additional consumer debt like revolving credit cards and unsecured high rate loans with a 125% second mortgage. On average, borrowers are saving $800 a month with 1st-2nd combo loans that were clearly created to convert and consolidate adjustable rate mortgages into fixed rate no equity loans that maximize savings.

Relive The Glory With A Home Mortgage Refinancing Lender
You probably still remember the day you first moved into your house. There was that feeling of pride, sheer happiness, and accomplishment of finally having bought a house of your own. Fast forward to now, ten years later. Your family has grown, you now have a few gray hairs, and your jewel of a house, well, it has seen better days.

The Risks Of Home Mortgage Refinancing
Are there risks involved in home mortgage refinancing? Yes, there are. Know a few risks to watch out for through this article.

A Change Is In The Market For Subprime Mortgage Loans
The subprime market is undergoing a major change due to the recent narrowing of lender guidelines regarding applicants. Why in particular is the subprime market being targeted? Perhaps this is because the subprime market tends to experience more problems with meeting their loan obligations than other markets.