There are many home owners who are struggling with their mortgage payments and looking for a way to reduce monthly payments. However, due to the high demand of people wanting to lower their payments, many scams are arising to take undue advantage of financially distressed people. For the home owners who are scared of facing foreclosure, there is one more thing to worry about home loan modification scams. Home loan modifications are in high demand right now. This makes it easy for scammers to prey on vulnerable home owners. Check out the ways you can avoid home loan modification scams.

  1. Always be skeptical: The scammers often try hard to present themselves as legitimate, but it is actually not so. Home owners must be careful about websites of companies having names similar to legitimate government programs. Many scammers try to establish the fact that they are affiliated to the government, but that is not the fact. While searching online, stick with sites officially associated with the government. Look for URLs that end with “gov” domain name. Government agencies will never ask for personal financial information upfront or request for fees anytime. Beware of agencies who ask for such things to avoid home loan modification scams.
  2. Avoid counseling for fee: If you are in financial trouble, contact housing counselors who provide counseling to prevent foreclosure. Housing counselors approved by HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) offer you a free counseling. In contrast scammers charge fees from helpless home owners. So avoid any counselor who charges a fee.
  3. Avoid verbal promises: Always remember that verbal promises are worth nothing if they are not on paper. The procedures involved in loan modification program needs a lot of documentation and paper work. You can never sue the scammer if you do not have documents on paper. So say a big no to a company who does not believe in any paper work.
  4. Ignore promises of shortcuts: You will notice that scammers often find a solution to foreclosure overnight. This is not possible because the foreclosure process is lengthy and difficult too. Also avoid any company that collects your monthly mortgage payments while negotiating with the lender. Such companies collect several months’ payment before disappearing.

Since there is an increase in the number of home owners who are struggling to lower monthly payment, it is very appealing for scammers to cheat such vulnerable home owners. If you are looking for help to reduce your monthly mortgage payments, see that you do not fall into the trap of home loan modification scams.