Be Careful When Seeking Florida Foreclosure Assistance

Owning a home is considered to be one of the American dreams. Unfortunately, a considerable number of homeowners has fallen victim to mortgage fraud and realized too late their dreams have turned into one of the worst nightmares of their lives.

A crackdown, which required seven months of planning and involved several government agencies, resulted in the charging of 86 people of mortgage fraud amounting to $76 million. The accused included real estate brokers, mortgage brokers, title attorneys, straw buyers and loan processors.

Named “Operation Stolen Dreams”, the said sweep was done in coordination by the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force which was established to investigate as well as prosecute crimes of financial nature. One of the popular cases settled under the said operation is the one which involved Bank of America and its plans of reimbursing overcharges made by Countrywide, a mortgage service company that the bank bought last year. The reimbursement will amount to at least $108 million.

Based on the FBI’s 2009 Mortgage Fraud Report, there was an increase of 5 percent in mortgage fraud activities which included seller assistance scams, reverse mortgages, loan modification, identity theft and home flipping. Unfortunately, the FBI is not optimistic about a decrease in mortgage fraud rates until 2013 sighting the current sluggish economy as the reason.

The FBI report also revealed a 120 percent increase in foreclosure rate between the year 2007 and 2009. A total of 2.9 million foreclosure filings were recorded for the said year with California leading the list of states with the highest foreclosure rate followed by Florida, Arizona and Illinois.

For homeowners looking to buy a new home or currently considering Florida foreclosure assistance to address their mortgage problems, it is recommended you be cautious when dealing with brokers, agents or any person who are claiming they can help you.

There are actually a lot of legitimate foreclosure help such as short sale Realtors who will truly provide you the assistance you need to make sure you do not lose your home to foreclosure. If you must, ask for references and check the agent’s license to be sure you are dealing with a professional.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/06/18/1686913/steal-a-dream-feds-watching.html