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  Category: Articles » Finance » Loans » Article
 

Home Loans and Mortgages - Beware of New “Mortgage Elimination” Scam




By Charles Essmeier

The booming real estate market has allowed many Americans to become “equity rich.” They may not have a lot of cash on hand, but they might have equity in their homes worth several hundred thousand dollars or more. Unfortunately, this increase in home wealth has spawned an equally booming business in equity theft, as more and more thieves find increasingly clever ways to con homeowners out of their equity, their homes, or both. One clever new scam involves companies that promise to completely “eliminate” a homeowner’s mortgage. For a fee of a few thousand dollars, these companies claim that a homeowner can have a free and clear title to their home without paying off the remaining debt. How does this scam work?

This scam is a bit more complicated than other scams that often use simple forgery of identity theft. In this “mortgage elimination” scam, the homeowner places his home in a trust with the mortgage elimination company as the trustee. The trustee files a long, tedious, frivolous, letter of complaint with the mortgage company, giving them a mere ten days to respond. Should the mortgage company not respond within ten days, and they frequently do not, the trust claims that they are then free of the mortgage obligation. Using a questionable power of attorney procedure, the trust then files with the local register of deeds for a release of the home’s title. This makes it appear that the home is now owned without a lien.

The legalities of this range from murky and questionable to outright fraud. It gets even worse when the trustee, claiming clear title to the home, takes out a home equity loan, cashes the check, and promptly disappears. The resulting mess often leaves the original homeowner with a pile of lawsuits, numerous visits from the police and the obligation to pay two mortgages. This scam is currently going on only in certain parts of the country, and isn’t yet widespread. Homeowners can easily avoid being taken by this scam by simply recognizing one simple truth – you cannot simply waive a mortgage obligation away without paying off the loan. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true.
 
 
About the Author
©Copyright 2005 by Retro Marketing. Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including End-Your-Debt.com, a Website devoted to debt consolidation information and HomeEquityHelp.net, a site devoted to information on home equity loans.

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  Some other articles by Charles Essmeier
Deed Theft Criminals Get More Aggressive at Stealing Your Home
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Will Online Mortgage Lenders Replace Traditional Banks?
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Is Mortgage Life Insurance a Good Buy?
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Home Equity Just Part of a Good Rainy Day Plan
In the last five years, values of homes throughout the United States have increased dramatically. With that, the American public ...

Discount Points May Be Wise When Purchasing a Home
There are many expenses one must pay when closing on a mortgage. Some of these include taxes, a down payment, loan origination fees, and miscellaneous fees for couriers, ...

Mortgage Tips for First Time Buyers
A home is the single most expensive thing most people will ever purchase. In addition, paying off a home loan can take as long as forty years and ...

  
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