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Foreclosure help often a scam

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By Samantha Sommer, Staff Writer 6:03 PM Wednesday, June 9, 2010

SPRINGFIELD — Richard Ewing decided to work with a loan modification company to fight a foreclosure and keep his home of about 15 years.

He paid the company offering loan modification assistance about $2,400.

That’s a service he later learned he can receive for free from the Neighborhood Housing Partnership.

“I didn’t want to get caught up in a scam,” he said. “Eventually I think that’s what I ended up with.”

Neighborhood Housing Partnership kicked off “Anti-Scam Day” on Wednesday, June 9. Its counselors spent the afternoon at the east side Walmart spreading the word about its services and about avoiding foreclosure scams.

No one should pay a fee for foreclosure counseling, said Tina Koumoutsos, NHP executive director. Some scammers take that fee and do nothing.

“We’ve seen in the last year an explosion of consumers that have been victimized by scammers promising a loan modification,” she said. “These are people as a last resort scraping their savings up to salvage their mortgage.”

Another red flag is a company telling homeowners to stop paying their mortgage and to pay them instead, said Kerri Brammer, NHP homeownership center manager.

Some also guarantee to resolve a foreclosure or modify a loan, she said.

“We’ll do the best we can, but we can’t promise anything in today’s environment,” Brammer said.

Other warning signs to beware of include asking for personal financial information online or on the phone, pressure to sign over the deed to a house or to sign paperwork you don’t understand, or a company that claims to offer “government-approved” or “official government” loans.

The anti-scam campaign is a statewide effort from the eight Ohio agencies that are part of the NeighborWorks America network, including NHP.

“It is affecting thousands of homeowners who are at their most vulnerable,” said Jennifer Kibby of NeighborWorks.

NHP can work with anyone of any income level, including people who aren’t delinquent. Contact them at (937) 322-4623.

It is counseling that helped Ewing and his wife get a refund of the $2,400. He fell behind on his mortgage after having his hours cut and then losing his job last year. The 61-year-old Urbana man hasn’t been able to get a full-time job.

Ewing would like to see more resources aimed at helping seniors like himself.

“The government needs to pay more attention to the senior citizens and the less fortunate citizens,” he said.

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