Don't sign a blank document or a document with blank lines. Something could be added later. Read everything thoroughly and if you don't understand everything completely get legal assistance.
Don't get conned into paying an upfront fee to get out of mortgage trouble. Be especially wary if these solicitations come from e-mail or web advertisements. You will likely be out the upfront fee and in the same boat as before you paid for the assistance.
In more sophisticated upfront (advance) fee schemes involving foreclosure fraud, victims are even talked into signing over their property. The victim loses the upfront fee, their house and still owes their mortgage when this occurs. Advance fee fraud has been around for centuries and is merely a false promise of something that is too good to be true in return for an advanced payment.
On a final note, the FBI recommends that if you are facing foreclosure, the best thing to do is to see if your lender will work for you.
Agent Broshears and the men and women working with him have seen their case-load with mortgage fraud triple in the recent past. By sharing these tips, learned from real life investigations, they hope to make their job easier and see a few less people victimized by this growing phenomenon.
If you need more information on mortgage fraud, the FBI has a page on their site dedicated to this subject.
Article comments
1 - Condor
A couple of well worn adages
1. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
2. Caveat emptor (buyer beware)
Use your head people. You're starting to worry me.