This particular real estate scam is not new. In fact, it was a couple of years ago it was talked about quite a lot on the news. It goes something like this; the bad guy scours the MLS to find a very nice property.  They scrape the listing for pictures and information then go to websites like Craigslist.org and HotPads.com to post the information they pulled from property that is for sale on the MLS and post it as a rental property in the area.

With these types of scams, the “landlord” makes some kind of excuse for being unavailable; traveling, already moved, etc., as well as being unreachable by phone; overseas, on a cruise, etc. So they are only available by email. which is a huge RED FLAG!

After several exchanges, the victims are instructed to send a deposit and first month’s rent (that’s a lot of money for most of these homes) and once received they will instruct the person to set up a time with the realtor to see the inside of the home and get the keys. The problem is that the realtor has the property listed with the real owner and can only inform the victim that they have been scammed out of a lot of money.

So, how do you protect yourself? Just follow the following rules and you should be able to detect the bad guys from those that are legitimate.

• Don’t respond to a listing that does not have a local phone number and address.
• Insist on meeting the landlord or property management company in person or look up the property on MLS and call the listing Realtor.
• Never send money to anyone via the mail or hand over money in person without a signed contract in hand.
• Stay away from properties that are renting way below market value. (Check with a Realtor as they can help you determine this) and remember: If it’s too good to be true, it most likely is.

Pass this information along to everyone you know. This way we can make as many people as possible aware of this scam and put a stop to it.

Then credit is pulled and they are shocked to find late pays on loans they have never heard of that are in their name. Most tend to be student loans that parents have co-signed and defaulted on but I’ve seen car and credit cards in the kids names that the children have either never known about or thought they were being paid by parents on time and in good standing.

Even the parents have been shocked a time or two because they thought the debt was rolled into a bankruptcy or debt reduction plan. The truth is many student loans cannot be included in bankruptcy procedures and most debts will revert to the other name holder at some point.

What this means for the person or persons trying to purchase their first home is that they can’t qualify due to debt ratios, late pays or default and can put them back for years financially. While this is normally seen in families, I have also seen it in past roommates and friends that have tried to help or helped and have gotten burned.

It’s extremely important that if you need a cosigner or have been asked to co-sign any type of loan, be aware of the downfalls to your own credit that can take place if you or the other party ever defaults. Starting from zero is a lot easier than starting in the negative and could take years to recover. No one wants this to happen so make these choices carefully.

Before doing anything you should sit down with a life insurance specialist (someone who only sells life insurance) and talk to them about ways to insure against your passing. You will find out that these guys know a thing or two that can really help you plan for your future and protect your family and home just in case something unexpected happens to you or your spouse.

No one likes to talk about life insurance, wills or funeral pre-payment but these are things you need to consider when doing your financial planning for your family. If you don’t, what could end up happening is a free for all where no one knows what’s going on and everyone left behind has to pay or sell what’s left. This is the last thing you would want for your family to go through.

These Realtors know the new HAFA (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives) law that went into effect on April 5^th, 2010 and can help you discover if you are a candidate for a HAFA short sale, can walk through a short sale quicker than most and also see if you will be able to get some moving assistance to help you get relocated.

The main reason to look into a short sale over letting your property go into foreclosure has to do with your credit. One of the best resources is this Short Sale VS Foreclosure white paper. It has a lot of good information about the differences each has on your overall credit rating and the time frames associated with each.

I have not had any personal experience with BoA as I have never had a loan or banked with them. However, I have listened to a number of people who have tried in vain over the pat year to get some temporary relief or a loan modification with BoA and the stories are heartbreaking. From being told they have to be behind on their mortgage when the head of BoA said before Congress in October of 2009 that you did not have to be behind on your mortgage in order for the bank to work with you to being called names and being hung up on and made to feel like you are a looser because you are having a hard time paying your mortgage.

Remember, this is one of the banks that took the American public for a ride and a half in bailout money, etc. The least they could do is work with those people who are willing and want to get a resolution made on their loans. You know the kind of people I’m talking about; the kind that want to pay their bills but have been laid off or finding work hard to come by. I don’t know about you but there is an old saying, “but for the grace of God, there go I”. We would all do well by remembering that, including the big banks and financial institutions.

For more on the story of the wrong house foreclosed on.

Once this form has had the chance to be used for a while, I believe it will be a plus for the industry as a whole. And while it odes some really good things it also makes it virtually impossible to close a loan quickly. Appraisals cannot be done quickly and you have to wait at least 3 days and sometimes up to 7 days after the GFE have been released in order to close the loan. This simply means that loan officers, processors, closers and title companies will have to be on top of their game at all times because the process will no longer allow much leeway. It will be more and more important to get it right and get it right the first time. So whether you are a consumer or Realtor, working with an experienced loan officer will be very important from this point forward.

Because you have lost your current insurance coverage and let your policy lapse or canceled your insurance coverage and not replaced it with another policy, the mortgage company has the right (actually, the obligation) to place an insurance policy on the property on your behalf. Most of the time this insurance is far more expensive than the policies you could personally get so you will either receive a bill for the policy or your monthly payment will go up to absorb the increase. Either way you are either bound to pay for this policy or immediately get a replacement. If you don’t, you will owe the mortgage company the difference in your escrow account and it will just build up like plaque on your teeth and will be more painful down the road to deal with than if you deal with it as soon as you see there is an issue.

I know two people in the mortgage and real estate business, who will go unnamed, that hired companies to help them modify their home loans and after 6 and 8 months realized they had been taken. Both have since talked to the loss mitigation departments of their respective mortgage companies and worked out their own modifications, which I have found to be the best way for a homeowner to get it done. Unfortunately, there are far too many people out there who prefer to not deal with the problem than there are that will deal with it head on. This is what I have personally seen to be the issue in so many cases, so to answer the question proposed in the title; most of the time, it’s you who can help yourself the most.

If you really don’t understand an issue, get in touch with your mortgage company and ask questions or call your homeowners insurance person and see if they can help you figure out what to do. There is THDA and the Nashville Housing Fund that may be able to guide you to the right person. The main thing is to not give up and keep fighting until you understand the problem and have the steps to deal with it down. You are always your best advocate!

One of the reasons for this is that, most of the time, we don’t get all the information until the last minute from the closing attorney’s office and the homeowners insurance company’s. This will have to change in order for us to comply with the new rules. The basic thing you need to remember is if the APR is 1/8^th a percentage point higher or lower than the latest GFE disclosed, another GFE has to be disclosed and you must wait 3 days if emailed or 7 days if mailed before you can close the loan. This could be a problem if this all happens right before the loan lock expires so you need to be aware that this is now a variable in the process. Everyone I know who is in the mortgage loan business is doing everything possible to create a succinct process so that we can all benefit from these new rules; especially the buyers.

Once again I had a potential customer who decided to go with another company who got them a rate that was .250% below what anyone else was quoting and it looked like a great deal from the original GFE that they were given.  Then, about a week after they closed the refinance loan, the wife started to put two and two together and realized the balance they refinanced was really high.  She pulled out the paperwork and saw over $9,000 in fees and wondered if that was right.  After pulling out the Good Faith Estimates she had received from a couple of other companies, I got a phone call.

It wasn’t good news that was delivered and there was nothing they could do about it now.  They DID get the rate and they DID pay for it.  You must understand the rate is not always the most important thing to consider on your loan; the overall cost is.  Make sure you get with your loan officer and he or she explains thoroughly how much your loan will cost you in terms of time of ownership vs. money saved by rate.  It is very easy to pay more money for a lower rate and never make up the difference.  You are responsible to ask the right questions and know what you are signing and not to fall for the smoke and mirrors.