NJ Couple Sign Away Home To Home "Rescuer"

Anyone wanting a detailed, step by step walk through of the horror that one financially strapped New Jersey couple endured with a foreclosure rescuer should read, Rug pulled out from under them, a media report appearing on NorthJersey.com.

The homeowner claimed, among other things, that she and her husband were rushed through the signing process and were not allowed to thoroughly study the documents they were signing. The rescue operators reportedly read sections of the contracts to them out loud.

For the three months after signing, the homeowner reportedly got calls from the rescue company, not about new financing that was promised, but about unrelated matters. The homeowner stated: "They wanted to know everyone I spoke to. And they didn't want me to talk to a lawyer." This aroused suspicion in her, but reportedly was continuously reassured that they were on her side.

Melissa Huelsman, a Seattle, Washington consumer protection attorney who has represented clients involved in over a dozen foreclosure rescue cases this year, was quoted in the story (referring to homeowners dealing with rescue companies), as saying "People just trust. It is scary and intimidating to them. And they have no idea of what they are signing."

Rather than reciting the rest of the details, I'll let you read the story for yourself. I will say, however, that the story ends by stating that "The ordeal has left the couple heartbroken, potentially homeless, and on the verge of separating".

Note:

For eligible New Jersey residents looking for low cost legal services, a good place to start your search is the Legal Services of New Jersey directory, which lists non-profit law firms throughout the state of New Jersey. For general information on this organization, go to the Legal Services of New Jersey home page. You can view their brochure here.

Consumer protection attorneys who are members of the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) who are located in New Jersey are listed here.

More on Seattle, Washington consumer protection attorney Melissa Huelsman:

• King County Bar Association Bulletin
• Investigators: 'Foreclosure Rescue' Leaves Some Gasping For Air
• Ameriquest to pay millions to mortgage customers
• Scams target immigrants
• Homeowners warned about foreclosure 'rescue' scams

Arizona AG Files Charges Against Foreclosure Rescuer

Another example of the Arizona Attorney General's pursuit of allegedly deceptive forcelosure rescue operators can be found in this June, 2005 Press Release, where he charged, in a civil lawsuit, the companies with misleading homeowners into signing over their homes as part of a plan to save their home from foreclosure.

The allegations decribe the "rescuer" as requiring the homeowners to pay an outrageous sum to "buy back" their homes, and that many lost their homes because of the company's deceptive sales tactics.

Also alleged is that the company

• "targeted Spanish-speaking communities, and applied high pressure tactics to convince homeowners to sign densely worded legal documents the homeowners often did not understand. In some cases the VRF representative refused to allow the homeowner to read the documents before signing, making the homeowner dependant on the VRF representative’s explanation."

Many of the homeowners were actually unaware that they were signing over their homes, according to authorities.

For media reports on this case, see

• Realty firm accused of deception
• Licenses rescinded in fraud inquiry

PA. Gov, House Speaker, Philly Mayor Homes "Stolen" ?

Have the Philadelphia mayor, Pennsylvania governor and Speaker of the State House of Representatives been victimized by brazen "house thieves" ?

Not really, but they each got a taste of what it was like to be a "deed theft" victim when an NBC10 investigative reporter and the NBC10 Investigators recorded phony deeds on their homes, according to this 2005 video report on Philadelphia's Channel 10 website at nbc10.com.

The investigative report was intended to highlight the "deed theft" by forgery problem in Philadelphia, where reportedly sixty Philadelphians a year "lose" their homes through forgery.

For a report on this story on what appears might be an NBC10 blog post, click here.

Go here for other deed theft posts. deed theft zorro

Arizona AG Alleges Deception, Settles With Foreclosure Rescue Operator

An Arizona foreclosure rescue operator has agreed to change its business practices and pay restitution to customers who took part in their "HomeSavers" program, according to this Press Release issued by the Arizona Attorney General's Office.

The company has also agreed to pay the Attorney General’s Office $200,000 for the cost of the investigation.

The irony in this matter is that, according to this media report, the foreclosure rescue operator in this case had been named as a finalist for the Tucson Better Business Bureau annual ethics awards earlier this year in spite of the fact that it had been sued eight times by unhappy customers in the past 10 years. See Ethics finalist was sued 8 times .

New York Passes Home Equity Theft Prevention Act

Legislation regulating the industry that is referred to as either the "foreclosure rescue", “foreclosure assistance”, or "foreclsoure bailout loan" industry – companies that target financially strapped people in foreclosure and promise to rescue them from losing their homes, was passed in New York this summer, according to this article and summary of the new law written by attorney Kirsten Keefe of the Empire Justice Center, a statewide, non-profit law firm in New York represnting poor and low income people on a wide variety of issues.

The legislation was signed into law on July 26, 2006 and will go into effect on February 1, 2007.

For a copy of the New York's Home Equity Theft Prevention Act, click here. (Then, click link for "Laws of New York," then scroll down and click link for "RPP" - Real Property, then click link for "Article 8" - Conveyances and Mortgages, then scroll down and click link for "265-A" - Home equity theft prevention.).

For two examples of the types of cases that led to the passage of the New York law, click here or here.

See 1-12-07 Post For Updated Information On This New Law.

revised 1-12-07

Alleged "House Thief" Indicted, Announces Brooklyn DA

The Brooklyn, NY District Attorney has announced the indictment of a married couple (a 2/3 owner of a home) for allegedly using a forged deed and other forged documents to steal the ownership of their now-89 year old 1/3 co-owner and his wife, as reported in this report from The Prieston Group's The Mortgage Fraud Blog.

For the Brooklyn DA's Press Release, click here.

Servicers Squeeze Homeowners With Predatory Practices

One form of home equity theft, which I earlier mentioned in this blog, in this post, is called mortgage servicing abuse, which is discussed in this BusinessWeek Online article, reported on MSNBC.com.

The article mentions one case of a homeowner in foreclosure that was charged with $18,000 in late charges and attorney fees, on top of the past due mortgage payments.

In another, a mortgage servicer claiming that it hadn't received 19 payments from a homeowner miraculously found the payments after an investigator from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD") showed up and started looking into the matter.

Relative to other tactics used by predatory lenders, one industry expert stated, "predatory servicing has attracted little attention, yet in many respects it is more vicious and the adverse consequences are more far-ranging."

This article makes reference to a $40 million fine imposed by HUD in 2003 on one mortgage servicer for its abusive practices, to which one California law professor observed, "The FTC hoped by nailing Fairbanks it would send a message to the whole industry. It hasn't yet."

According to consumer lawyers, "the system preys on the ignorance of borrowers and creates an opportunity to add false fees and charges not authorized by law or their mortgage contract".

One attorney refers to those companies engaged in mortgage srvicing abuse as "foreclosure factories".

One case that consumer attorneys may find of some interest is the lawsuit brought by a Texas consumer lawyer who obtained an $11.5 millon jury verdict on behalf of his client, a widowed grandmother, after finding that the loan servicer engaged in fraudulent practices in servicing her home-equity loan.

For the full story, and for anyone wanting an easy-to-read primer on this form of "home equity theft" (one that hasn't received the attention that other forms have) , you are urged to read the BusinessWeek Online article: The ‘foreclosure factories’ vise

Click here for slide show

Go here , go here , and go here for posts on questionable mortgage servicing practices. questionable mortgage servicing practices tactics zebra