News

 

Archive for June 16th, 2012

This Says it All

Mark Stopa

www.stayinmyhome.com

Posted in Main | No Comments »

The Latest Foreclosure Rescue Scam

I’ve blogged about how to avoid foreclosure rescue scams in the past, and I’d hoped I wouldn’t have to again.  After all, the one (and only) thing the Florida Attorney General will prosecute in foreclosure-world  is a fraudulent defense.  (Goodness knows the crooked banksters avoid prosecution.)  Anyway, based on what Florida homeowners are telling me, these scam operations still exist, trying to take advantage of unsuspecting homeowners.

When I wrote about this in 2010, I saw six red flags – six factors that homeowners should look for in distinguishing those companies that can help homeowners prevent foreclosure and those which are, quite frankly, just trying to steal money.  Unfortunately, it’s time to add a seventh.

Apparently, there are companies out there trying to convince homeowners that the way to avoid foreclosure is to deed their house to the company.  That sounds nuts, right?  Who’d fall for that?  Deed your house?  Come on.  Who’d be foolish enough to relinquish ownership to their home as part of a “foreclosure defense?”  After all, the very point of a deed is to give up ownership – how can that help anyone retain ownership and fight foreclosure?

Well, these companies make what might seem to be a pretty convincing pitch.

Company:  “Deed me your house, and I’ll fight the bank, quiet title, and deed the house back to you for a fraction of the cost.”

Homeowner:  “I’m not doing that.  Mark Stopa is my lawyer, he’s representing me.  I don’t need your help.”

Company:  “Is Stopa suing to quiet title?  Stopa’s an idiot.  I can get your house free and clear.  Here, see these documents; I’ve done it before.”

Please, folks.  Please don’t fall for this.  If it were that easy to “quiet title,” I’d be doing it, Weidner would be doing it, Chip Parker would be doing it … we’d all be doing it.  I’d be writing about it on this blog, explaining how to stick it to the banking industry by getting free houses.  And the media would have these stories plastered all over the 11pm news.  It just doesn’t work like that.  I mean, seriously.  You’ve read my blogs.  Do you really think I’d hesitate to get homeowners free houses if there were a legitimate way to do so?  I’d love nothing more than to create the biggest consumer bailout in the history of the world, wiping out one mortgage after another.  Unfortunately, it just doesn’t work like that.

To be clear, winning a “quiet title” is possible.  It’s extremely rare, and I’m not going to bother explaining it on this blog (so as to tip off the crooked banksters on how it’s done), nor am I going to explain it to anyone except existing clients whose cases have evolved in a way that I think this is a realistic possibility.  So yes, it’s possible, but deeding your house to another company is unequivocally NOT how it works.

My point here is this …

Don’t fall for any “help” or “deal” that entails you deeding your house to somebody else.  If you’re walking away from your house and don’t care any more, then perhaps that’s a different story.  But if you want to own your home and/or fight a bank that’s trying to foreclose, then deeding it to some “foreclosure rescue” company is the last thing you should do.  Anyone who says otherwise is very likely trying to con you – sort of like selling oceanfront property in Kansas.

And as for those documents that they show you?  I can create a document that shows I own the White House; it doesn’t make it real.

Mark Stopa

www.stayinmyhome.com

Posted in Main | No Comments »