It seems to me that a lot of people have been coming from out of nowhere to "help" financially distressed homeowners.  I've done loans in the past, and I haven't been able to see any miracles out there for the distressed.  The majority of these owners have negative equity in the property.  I have advised these to first talk to their lender and a lawyer to seek a possible modification for which the lender will qualify you based on hardship.  If that does not work, a short-sale may be possible, but check with your tax consultant and a lawyer for any financial and/or legal consequences.  But recently, owners have been approached by third parties to do the financial packet on the owners "behalf" for a fee.  Could this be a scam?  Ex. a lender that had sold the loan to another company approached my client.  For a fee from a lawyer that they would forward your file to, that lawyer would negotiate a loan modification with your new loan company......pretty confusing, huh?  Has anyone else heard of this?