3 Tips to Avoid the ‘Bail Out’ Foreclosure Scam – How to Avoid Foreclosure Rescue Scams

If you have recently fallen behind on your mortgage claim refund payments and start to get an upset stomach with a worried look on your face when you check your mail due to the impending foreclosure notice coming from your bank chances are good you might be considering some form of a foreclosure bailout program.

If your home is the only asset you possess then it is quite natural to be tempted to with the notion of using any equity you may have built up in your home to offset your current financial dilemma. In many cases this is a perfectly fine plan if it can provide you a means to bring yourself out of debt and catch up on your outstanding mortgage payments, unless you end up getting duped or scammed.

If you are faced with the scary prospect of foreclosing on your house then most likely the money you have built up in your home can be a much needed blessing. However, many foreclosure rescue scams are starting to appear with the sole intent of robbing you blind of your home equity by making a “bail out” offer.

A bail out offer is where a company or perhaps a single individual provides you an appetizing offer to buy your home now and then sell it back to you at a later point in time once your financial condition has improved. For example, let’s assume your house is worth $600,000 and you have $200,000 worth of built up equity. You receive an offer for $400,000, which is relatively close to what you currently owe on your house. This looks like a great deal under the premise that you will be able to repurchase your house back at a later date.

Unfortunately, this deal isn’t what it seems because the scammer will first acquire a loan of $400,000 and then give you a small sum of money and have you sign a short term lease (usually two years) with the opportunity for you to buy back your house at the end of the lease period. However, this is where the scam starts to take place.

because the scammers normally start you out with a low rent and then inclemently increase it until you get to a point where you can no longer financially afford to pay the higher rent. Now, instead of helping you fix your financial situation, you are suddenly worried about defaulting on your rent payments and being evicted from your own property.

In the event you do fall behind on your payments and get evicted the foreclosure scam artist opts to sell your $600,000 home, pays off their loan and makes a nice profit of $200,000 for a few months of scamming you.

Sadly, most homeowners do nothing to prevent this from taking place because they simply don’t understand or realize that they are being scammed. The good news is that you can avoid these types of foreclosure rescue and bail out scams by following the following three tips: