Common Foreclosure Scams

If your property mortgage is delinquent and you are facing foreclosure, you may be contacted by a person or company willing to take the property off your hands to save your credit. While some of these companies are actually good and do help, others are not.

Do not sign anything that you do not understand or that is blank. Go through a reputable escrow company to make sure that your mortgage(s) is paid off to the satisfaction of the lender(s). If you do not do this, you may find that the person or company has title to or owns your property, yet the mortgage is still in your name. The person or company pays nothing to the mortgage(s) holder. The foreclosure happens. Your credit is ruined while the company “saving” your credit has made money from your property by renting it until the foreclosure.

If you think you’ve been a victim of this fraud, contact 602.258.1659 for information. You can also report a foreclosure scam to the Arizona Attorney General's Office by calling 602.542.5763 or visiting their website, Arizona Attorney General's Office, Foreclosure Resource Center.

Common Foreclosure Scams
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• Equity skimming
  A “buyer” approaches you, offering to get you out of financial trouble by promising to pay off your mortgage or give you a sum of money when the property is sold. The “buyer” may suggest that you move out quickly and deed the property to him or her. The “buyer” then collects rent for a time, does not make any mortgage payments, and allows the lender to foreclose. Remember, signing over your deed to someone else does not necessarily relieve you of your obligation on your loan.


• Phantom help
  The “rescuer” charges outrageous fees for light-duty phone calls or paperwork that the homeowner could easily do, none of which results in saving the home. This predatory scam gives homeowners a false sense of hope and prevents them from seeking qualified help.


• The bailout
  In the scam, the homeowner is deceived into signing over title with the belief that he will be able to remain in the house as a renter and eventually buy it back over time. The terms of these scams are so onerous that they buy-back becomes impossible, the homeowner losses possession and the “rescuer” walks off with most of all of the equity.


• The bait-and-switch
  In this scam, the homeowners think they are signing documents to bring the mortgage current, but instead actually surrender their ownership. They usually don’t even know they’ve been scammed until they’re evicted.


• Phony counseling agencies
  Some groups calling themselves “counseling agencies” may approach you and offer to perform certain services for a fee. These could well be services you could do for yourself for free, such as negotiating a new payment plan with your lender, or pursuing a pre-foreclosure sale.

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