President Obama's first budget lays the groundwork for slashing the federal deficit in half by the end of his first term, reports Bill Plante. Maggie Rodriguez asks an Obama official about the budget.
ShortRefiNow.com, of Roseville, California, has been labeled by The Better Business Bureau as a scam. Having received numerous complaints of shoddy service, non performance, and no refunds, the BBB issued the scam warning on March 31st. The California Department of Real Estate issued a Desist and Refrain order in February because the company lacked proper licensing to perform loan modifications. The order came along too late for Kris Pinckney who gave ShortRefiNow.com $3,000 for her loan modification but kept getting non answers and the runaround. When she asked her lender whether they had spoken to anyone at ShortRefiNow.com, the answer she got was that they had received one call to ask how they did refi’s. She did get a partial refund from the company.
While unfortunate, these scams are avoidable. Detecting and avoiding loan modification scams is a relatively simple task if a person knows what to look for and where to find it. By combining that knowledge with a little time to conduct some due diligence, a homeowner can virtually eliminate the possibility of being scammed. The first priority is to insist on working with an attorney to execute the loan modification. Getting some background information is an easy task. Get the attorney’s State Bar number. Ask whether the attorney will be representing you or the law office. Find out how long the office has been doing loan modifications and how many have been successfully executed.
Behind the scenes, many of the companies scamming their customers are also running smear campaigns against reputable, licensed firms with long lists of successful loan modifications. Steven Feldman of The Feldman Law Center was recently a target just such an attack. He stated in a recent interview, "When we started helping home owners avoid foreclosure with loan modifications there were just a few attorneys in the entire country providing this service. Now I think there are more loan mod companies and newbie attorneys doing loan mod’s than there are McDonald’s across the country.” Commenting on the attempted character assassinations on some of the sites being used as tools of lesser companies he said, “It's amusing to me that these people even exist. It wasn't until the Feldman Law Center assisted in shutting down these companies doing loan modification scams that these unfounded allegations hit the internet. I have been an attorney for 30 years and just can't believe what I read these days.”
One thing is for certain. ShortRefiNow.com will not be the last loan modification company to be shut down for nonperformance. There are certainly others out there that will operate in the same fashion and eventually get shut down. The key is to avoid them in the first place. It can be easily done by taking some time to look behind the curtain to find out whether the firm being considered is honest, reputable, and will get the job done.
4 Comment
Comment
Jun 30,2009
The BBB is a questionable resource for information. I think you need to get refferals and see results for yourself.The BBB has more complaints than most of these loan modification lawyers.
by: David
Jun 1,2009
I also used the Feldman Law Center for a loan modification and was more than happy of the outcome. My lender declined me when I tried on my own and Feldman came away with a $50,000 principal reduction and a new rate of 3.00% fixed for 30 years. For $3500 boy did I get my monies worth. I would definately recomend Feldman Law Center despite the bs on the web.
by: Gerald
Apr 7,2009
It's a shame there are actually companies out there that will rob struggling families of their last $3,000. Thank God for attorneys like Feldman that are really helping people in foreclosure. My friends went there and met Steven Feldman. All of Ladera Ranch area is upside down and no one is making money like the use to. Feldman Law Center seems to be the real deal. A much better choice than Loan Mods R US..
by: Jennifer
Apr 7,2009
The banks are not going to make you a good offer unless you get an attorney. People say to not pay up front fees to a loan modification company but a reputble attorney is going to cost you. If you can get a good mod then it's well worth it.
by: Harold
If you need help understanding your option of taking advantage of thehome loan modification process, the help is available to you everywhere. The process is quite tricky and it is highly recommended that you do indeed seek legal advice before signing on the dotted line, in order receive the most efficient and cost-effective modification to your mortgage payment.
Where do I get Advice
There is advice all over the web on how to receive a loan modification; some of this advice is quite helpful, while some is quite dreadful. There is also the opportunity to hire a professional service that will help you go through the paperwork and work with the lender to help you get all the benefits that you deserve, due to a hardship.Loan modification is a process that must be understood completely and thoroughly. This article can actually offer you an insight on the process of loan modification and tips that will better help you as a homeowner save your home from the risk of a foreclosure.
Loan Modification Advice
First and foremost, it is important to determine if you are eligible for a loan modification. This requires writing a letter of hardship explaining to the lender what exactly the reason is for your late payments and the fact that you are unable to pay your mortgage. Doing a loan modification on your own requires more than just advice. Becoming educated about the process is more important. This is perhaps a good reason to hire a professional loan modification company to take part in the process. They will handle everything for you, while educating you in the progression. There is a fee charged for hiring these companies, but in turn your mortgage payment can be lowered quite a bit and professionals can even find things in your original loan papers that may prove that the lender may have broken the law during your original mortgage signing.
If you do choose to take the big leap of the loan modification process on your own, you must first contact the lender and they will lead you to the correct department, normally the loss mitigation department. You may not want to directly say that you are in the process foreclosure. We do not want the lender to think your situation is not worth their time before hearing you out. Always document anything relating to the loan modification process, every phone call and any other information you may receive during the process must be documented. Always discuss every option available with your lender, so that you may come up with the best alternative for you. It is true you will save money going directly through your lender and let’s face it, you are struggling already trying to make your payments, but professional assistance can help immensely.
No matter what direction you decide to take, loan modificationwill be what determines the amount of time you have in your home. If you are eligible you should act as soon as possible.
