www.interthinx.com/overview/fraud_reports.php tracks the risk of mortgage fraud. NV and then CA top the list of risk. Frauds are still out there.
www.dsnews.com
is an invaluable source of information about the entire finance industry, and is now dominated by news of banks and mortgages.
www.makinghomeaffordable.gov
is the official site for new governmental refinances and modifications. There, you can see quickly if you qualify.
http://freddiemac.com/avoidforeclosure
gives excellent advice and links to fine resources. If and only if you have a Freddie loan, you may even be able to rent your home back after selling. Now you know what very few other people know. If you have a Freddie loan and someone tells you you cannot short sale and rent back, you can illuminate that person. If they err a few more times, you might consider someone more knowledgeable.
www.amazon.com
stocks a book "Loan Modification For Dummies." $13.59. It was obsolete before it could be printed.
Note: We don't do loan mods, and we don't know of any legitimate companies that do. If anyone wants to do a loan mod for you, they absolutely cannot collect a dime from you until after your loan mod is complete. Period. No interim payments, nothing.
Bad information abounds. To the right are websites that give you good information. But first, an experience of mine.
Like millions of others, our private home phone is on the Federal Do Not Call list for telemarketers.
Yesterday, a telemarketer called it,
(that's illegal),
Via autodialer,
(also illegal),
Anonymously,
(also illegal),
Four times in three hours,
(more illegalities),
Their call began with recorded music,
(illegal).
Finally, I talked to them. A very nice sounding lady wants to get us a loan modification for only $2,500. She was QUICK to say that she NEVER telemarkets. She only buys leads from some company. Her contract says she cannot reveal their name. "So now, when is the best time to get started?" she asked in her best NLP manner and voice. Well trained. I didn't mention to her that I knew it was illegal for her to ask for money up front. It is.
Hiring her is rather like asking some who currently robs banks for a living to manage our finances, just because they have never robbed Us. (yet)
As a test, I gave her information that was outside the parameters any normal bank would accept, and she said I qualified easily. Wow! (I knew better.) My next step would be to visit her office about 10 miles away and give her a check to analyze my data. Was I surprised?
No thanks. To the right are some official links with excellent. correct information.
