Feds warning on Foreclosure Rescue Scams

The Treasury Department's Office of Thrift Services has a great web page here warning consumers against scammers who offer "rescues" if the homeowner is facing mortgage foreclosure. DON"T PANIC! Just because you are behind on your mortgage payments, you may not be actually facing foreclosure yet. The lender will send you letters about your delinquency and offer you chances to work out payments before actually foreclosing.

It's important that you don't accept advice from a "mortgage rescue service" that contacts you. All too often, these are scam artists who will make a bad situation worse. I encourage you to read the Warning linked above. Instead:
* visit HUD's listing of approved housing counselors, by state, at http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hcs.cfm

* check these recommended websites for foreclosure prevention assistance:

HOPE NOW at http://www.hopenow.com/
HOPE NOW is an alliance of HUD-approved
counseling agencies, mortgage companies,
investors and other mortgage market participants
that provides free foreclosure prevention
assistance. The site features information
about the HOPE hotline, 1-888-995-HOPE,
which is staffed by HUD-approved credit
counselors who can guide homeowners to
foreclosure options.

NeighborWorks® America at
http://www.nw.org/network/home.asp.
NeighborWorks® America administers the
federally appropriated National Foreclosure
Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) program,
which was created to significantly increase
the availability of housing counseling geared
to homeowners at risk of foreclosure.

Most of all, don't ignore the problem, or avoid it. You have to deal with it. Chances are, you can do something to save your house, or at least salvage some of your equity. But don't rely on the people who call you out of the blue! Don't be one of the people we've been blogging about having to represent themselves in court or ending up in "debtors' prison!" Check out the warning page!

The new administration has launched an effort to make housing more affordable, by lowering mortgage payments:

The Obama Administration has launched a
comprehensive Financial Stability Plan to
address key problems in the current housing
crisis. A major initiative of that effort is
“Making Home Affordable,” a plan to stabilize
the housing market and help up to 7 to 9 million
Americans reduce their monthly mortgage
payments to more affordable levels.
Check the Web site at http://www.making
homeaffordable.gov/ for further information