Beware of Foreclosure Fraud Schemes
I read a disturbing article today about people being taken advantage of with all kinds of foreclosure fraud schemes of one sort or another. The article is on msnbc.com and is titled Millions At Risk Of Foreclosure Fraud.
A lot of people commented on the article that people should always read what they sign before they sign it, but I’d like to know what percentage of people actually read every bit of every document they sign when they close on a house. In discussions with friends and family I haven’t come across a single person who’s done this, and I would guess it’s no more than a few percent at most. So there’s obviously a problem with the process if just a handful of people are reading every word of what they’re signing when hundreds of thousands of dollars are at stake!
Yes, we should all read every document we sign, but that’s almost impossible with the stack of paperwork one has to sign to purchase a home. We need to encourage our elected officials to sponsor and promote legislation that simplifies the paperwork and makes the documentation much easier to understand at a glance so the average person knows exactly what they are agreeing to. If the paperwork were easier to understand then there would be a lot fewer people signing and legally committing to things they don’t understand or don’t agree with.
Ever since we bought our first home a few years ago I’ve thought that mortgage documents should be made less burdensome and more understandable. I believe home purchase documentation should include a single summary sheet of paper that contains the numbers and answers to the following questions: What is the term of the loan? What is the interest rate? What is the monthly payment? Are there pre-payment penalties? Can the payment amount ever change?
It’s an unfortunate reality that laws in the United States allow individuals to take on far more debt and financial risk than most other industrialized nations, so someone needs to take a look at our laws and fix them. The idea that our laws provide no protection for someone who is encouraged to get into a variable rate loan they can barely afford while interest rates are near 40-year lows, or allows people to tap into all their home equity after a 50%-60% run-up in housing values over just a few years’ time is beyond me.
If you or someone you know is facing foreclosure, expect people to come out of nowhere with promises to save the property, renegotiate the loan, etc. Protect yourself and get a real estate attorney to review any documents before you sign. One key thing to keep in mind is that when you sign the title of your home over to anyone else for any reason, you are in effect selling them your home.
Until changes are made to our laws, people need to understand that the best thing to do before entering into any type of legal agreement involving real estate is to invest a couple hundred bucks and have a real estate attorney review the documents before they sign. Doing so could save many headaches, sleepless nights, and untold thousands of dollars!
A lot of people commented on the article that people should always read what they sign before they sign it, but I’d like to know what percentage of people actually read every bit of every document they sign when they close on a house. In discussions with friends and family I haven’t come across a single person who’s done this, and I would guess it’s no more than a few percent at most. So there’s obviously a problem with the process if just a handful of people are reading every word of what they’re signing when hundreds of thousands of dollars are at stake!
Yes, we should all read every document we sign, but that’s almost impossible with the stack of paperwork one has to sign to purchase a home. We need to encourage our elected officials to sponsor and promote legislation that simplifies the paperwork and makes the documentation much easier to understand at a glance so the average person knows exactly what they are agreeing to. If the paperwork were easier to understand then there would be a lot fewer people signing and legally committing to things they don’t understand or don’t agree with.
Ever since we bought our first home a few years ago I’ve thought that mortgage documents should be made less burdensome and more understandable. I believe home purchase documentation should include a single summary sheet of paper that contains the numbers and answers to the following questions: What is the term of the loan? What is the interest rate? What is the monthly payment? Are there pre-payment penalties? Can the payment amount ever change?
It’s an unfortunate reality that laws in the United States allow individuals to take on far more debt and financial risk than most other industrialized nations, so someone needs to take a look at our laws and fix them. The idea that our laws provide no protection for someone who is encouraged to get into a variable rate loan they can barely afford while interest rates are near 40-year lows, or allows people to tap into all their home equity after a 50%-60% run-up in housing values over just a few years’ time is beyond me.
If you or someone you know is facing foreclosure, expect people to come out of nowhere with promises to save the property, renegotiate the loan, etc. Protect yourself and get a real estate attorney to review any documents before you sign. One key thing to keep in mind is that when you sign the title of your home over to anyone else for any reason, you are in effect selling them your home.
Until changes are made to our laws, people need to understand that the best thing to do before entering into any type of legal agreement involving real estate is to invest a couple hundred bucks and have a real estate attorney review the documents before they sign. Doing so could save many headaches, sleepless nights, and untold thousands of dollars!
posted by Mark Minks at
8:38 PM
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