Foreclosures are increasing in Delaware. The Attorney General's Mortgage Foreclosure Task Force webpage may help Delaware homeowners find foreclosure solutions.

With the recent mortgage crisis, some of the fastest growing frauds are foreclosure rescue scams. In these scams, thieves try to take advantage of homeowners facing foreclosure. Posing as a variety of characters such as "mortgage consultants", "foreclosure rescuers", or as a "foreclosure service", these scam artists target homeowners with offers to "save" the defaulted homeowner's home. The scam artist gets the homeowner's money, but fails to provide any real assistance.

Scam artists first learn of homeowners in distress by looking through public foreclosure notices in newspapers and government offices. These thieves are becoming more deceptive and are always finding new ways to cheat homeowners.

Examples of foreclosure scams:
Phantom help - The "specialist" really is a phony counselor who charges outrageous fees in exchange for giving homeowners a false sense of hope, delaying homeowners from seeking qualified help, and exposing their personal financial information.

The lease / buy back - Homeowners are deceived into signing over the deed to their home to a scam artist who tells them that they will be able to remain in the house as a renter and eventually buy it back. Usually, the terms of this scheme are so demanding that the buy-back becomes impossible, the homeowner gets evicted, and the "rescuer" walks off with most of the equity.

Bait and Switch - This foreclosure scam involves signing away the ownership of your home. The scammers will tell the victim that they are signing documents for a new loan that will solve their problems. In reality, they are signing forged documents that will give the crooks ownership of the home. To make matters worse, the victim will still owe for the mortgage but will no longer have the house.

If you're a homeowner in default or facing foreclosure

Don't:
sign a contract under pressure
sign away ownership of your property to anyone without the advice of a lawyer
pay your mortgage payments to someone other than your lender without your lender's prior approval, even if the person you're paying promises to pass payments on to the company
ignore warning letters
make a verbal agreement
sign anything with blank lines or spaces - information could be added later that you did not agree to

Do:
contact the lender or lawyer immediately for help if you are receiving warning letters
talk to a HUD approved housing counseling agency
take plenty of time to review paperwork that requires a signature
get all promises in writing and get full copies

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