photo credit: Think-N-Evolve

 

Now that HARP has been revamped by the government, new fraudulent schemes are on the rise. Many homeowners are beyond stressed -- receiving mortgage delinquency notices and facing eviction and foreclosure, so it's a wonderful time for scammers to sharpen their deceitful teeth and sink those teeth into desperate borrowers. Tim Gallagher, chief of the FBI's Financial Crimes section explains, "We call them home rescue schemes. The targeting right now by the bad actors out there, we're seeing an upswing in directing it at individuals who are underwater."

Con artists prey on underwater borrowers who are having problems modifying or refinancing their current home loans. They promise a successful loan modification in exchange for a payment in advance of between $3,000-$5,000. Once they receive the payment, this "business" will simply disappear -- leaving the homeowner in an even bigger lurch. Gallagher says that rescue schemes and other refinance scams make up ten percent of the FBI's mortgage fraud cases. He goes on to explain that that figure would be even higher were it not for the FBI's one-million-dollar "threshold when it comes to the amount of money involved in a particular scheme." Gallagher clarifies it further, "It's easier to arrive at that amount with someone accused of mortgage loan origination fraud on four or five houses than it is for homeowner bailout schemes, which tend to involve lower dollar amounts."

Now that the government has implemented the second phase of its HARP program, the FBI is continually working with HUD as well as the FTC to further awareness in an effort to prevent borrowers from becoming victimized in this manner. These types of schemes are now a top priority for the FBI, and they will prosecute scammers as such.

Read the complete article.

The HUGE "SECRET" the Hapless Government and Their "Too Big to Fail" Banks
DON'T Want You to Know!

 

• Are you having a hard time keeping up with your mortgage payments?
• Do you know someone -- maybe a friend or a relative -- who is falling behind?

 

***IMPORTANT -- if you know ANYONE facing foreclosure, please make sure they read this!***

photo credit: reallyboring

Okay, so here comes the big "SECRET." Are you ready for it?

• It's simply earth-shattering!
• It's going to rock your world!
• You'll never look at homeownership or the "American Dream" the same way again!

The HUGE "secret" is...

• The big banks couldn't really care less about whether you pay your mortgage this month!

Why not?

• Because you...and your home...and your life...are just a BUSINESS TRANSACTION to them!

Do you understand what this means?

• This means that all that worrying you're doing -- about how you're going to pay next month's mortgage; about how you might not be "holding up your end of the deal;" about how you have to do "the right thing" --
  

YOU CAN LET GO OF ALL THAT -- RIGHT NOW!

 

• You can stop fighting with your spouse about money.

 

• You can stop losing sleep.
• You can stop fighting a losing battle.

 

And you can choose to GET SMART!

 

Here's the thing...there's a legal document associated with your mortgage. You pretty much know what it says, right?

• It says that if you don't pay your mortgage, the bank can foreclose on you.
• They can take legal action.
• And they can force you to leave...

But, guess what?

IT'S GOING TO TAKE THEM A LONG TIME!

You see?

The guys who are sending you those letters...the guys who are calling you...the guys who are telling you that you're behind on your mortgage payments...

• They don't know you.
• They don't care about you.
• And you are not going to hurt them if you just ignore them.

Have you ever really thought about what's going to happen if you just stop paying?

• How it's probably going to take them at least six months to force you to move?

Which means...You have time to prepare!

So, really...

• There's no rush.
• No need to panic.
• You can take your time...and become a little "strategic" about your situation.
• You can stay in control.

If you or someone you love is facing foreclosure -- and if you're thinking about trying to "tough it out," just ask yourself:

Who am I really doing this for?

• For some big bank who just sees me as a business transaction?
• For myself? Just because I signed a document that said I would pay?
• For my family?
• Because I care what the neighbors think?
• Because I'm proud?

No, no, no...Think about it...

You signed a document that said if you don't pay, they can eventually -- only after they go through a whole bunch of legal steps -- force you to leave your home.

So the reality of your situation is:

• You probably have three, six, nine months -- maybe even a year or more -- to get ready for where you're going to live next.

photo credit: Partha Sarathi Sahana

• You have time to SAVE that money that you would usually use to pay your mortgage.
• You have time to squirrel it away, to build up a nest egg.

So when the BIG DUMB BANK finally gets around to kicking you out, you will have the necessary cash to find a suitable rental.

• A place to live with a monthly payment that's a little less above your means.
• A place and a monthly payment that can give you and your famlily a fresh start.
• A happy home -- instead of one where there's a whole bunch of stress over how you're going to make those "too big to fail" banks happy.

Come on! Really, who's more important? You? Or them?

And besides -- they'll be all right anyway, right? After all, it's their fault you can't just sell your house and get out of this mess!

They ruined the real estate market with their dumb shenanigans...

...and NOT ONE of them has gone to jail for it!

We understand that you might love your home. Of course you do. That's fair. You like where you live. You love your home...

And you might be thinking you want to tough it out and stay, because, after all, it's your home.

We get that.

But is hanging onto that dream really worth all the stress? All the damage it's doing to your mindset, and your health when you can't get a good night's sleep?

No, it's not worth it.

If you really stop to think about it...it is not worth it.

And if you're worried about your credit score...DON'T!

photo credit: Casey Serin

 

It's "credit" that got us all into this mess! Kicking the can down the road, thinking, "We'll pay for it later..."

That's the big problem here. You need to realize that you don't need credit!

Won't it feel good to just live within your means? Spend what you actually have, and nothing more? Become part of the solution instead of part of the problem?

Maybe save a few bucks where you can -- rent a movie instead of going to the theater.

Stop letting those big dumb banks win again by charging you crazy interest rates on your own money!

photo credit: Steve Rhodes

Yeah, can you believe it? They've been taking your hard-earned money -- the tax money you give the government -- that the government gave to them -- They're taking that and lending it back to you...and charging you interest!

 

Anyway...

We took the time to write this because we hope that this letter will help a few good people be a little happier and a little less stressed out...

And because if more people get this message, perhaps it'll force the banks -- and the government -- to finally fail enough that they have to start doing the right thing!

Because when the people who poisoned this whole system are forced to fail, won't things be better for all of us?

Think about it.

Can you see how not paying your mortgage this month might actually be your PATRIOTIC DUTY?

photo credit: Bely Medved

If you have any questions about this strategy...

Thank you for reading this letter. We understand that what we have talked about here might be a little new for you.

And you might fully grasp all the technical and legal issues attached to what we're suggesting.

That's okay.

Just use the form below and someone will contact you shortly.

 

 

President Bush signed the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act in 2007, and it seems that people are still unclear about the particulars. This act makes it possible for homeowners in some circumstances to not have to pay federal income tax on forgiven debt of secured loans on primary residences.

For most people, reading though pages and pages of law is pretty confusing and tedious. For your convenience, we have included the text of Section 2 of H.R. 3648 which refers specifically to mortgage or loan forgiveness. We have also included the sections of the IRS Tax Code that were changed as a result of Section 2 of H.R. 3648.

The next section includes sections of the IRS Tax Code that were changed following Section 2 of H.R. 3648. Anything that was removed from the tax code is still below, but crossed out. New additions are highlighted in yellow.

 

IRS link to The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act and Debt Cancellation

 

Read more and read Q&A Comments here

 

There are many circumstances that will determine if a lender provides "Cash For Keys".

But in this particular case, the sellers did very well.  Beats foreclosure hands down.

 

6/24/11

Mark,

Thank you so much for all you did for us at a really stressful time.  You and Sam were on top of everything and had answers when we called you.  These are some important points that happened as we were going thru a short sale.

                Foreclosure sale date was postponed.

                Lender did not hold us responsible for the deficiency of the note.

                We received $23,000 at closing for participating in the short sale process.
                $3,000 from the HAFA Program and $20,000 from Chase.

If you know of others that are going thru the same circumstances they can call us if they would

like.  You have are numbers.

Sincerely,

Walt & Marlene Klein

 

photo credit: sgroi

 

Third-party investors on the west coast are moving distressed properties much faster than lenders. Discovery Bay, California tracking firm, Foreclosure Radar, keeps watch on auctions and foreclosures in the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Foreclosure Radar says that these five states all experienced a reduction in how long it takes investors to resell distressed properties.

Arizona investors are reselling homes on average of 95 days -- that's compared to the 150 days it takes an Arizona bank. California's average resale time is 134 days, versus a bank's 227 days. Nevada banks average 177 days to move a distressed home, while investors in Nevada take only 102 days. Banks in Oregon take upto 208 days compared to only 122 days for Oregon investors. Coming in last on the list for banks as well as investors is Washington state -- investors there resell in about 164 days versus a whopping 212 days for banks.

"Foreclosure investors may be the only winner so far, benefitting by being able to resell homes purchased at foreclosure auction a little more quickly," says Sean OToole, CEO of Foreclosure Radar. Four out of the five states mentioned had less foreclosure filings last month, California being the only exception. Last month, California's timeline for reselling had grown to 344 days on average.

Read the complete article here.