Live-Blogging from the Real Estate Investors Expo 2008 .

I've been looking at, investigating and talking to a number of companies that purport to specialize in Loan Modification or Mortgage Relief, in other words; re-negotiating a loan that is in default or is in danger of going seriously past due, which of course, leads to a default.

I've been concerned about a couple of things I see happening. First of all, it concerns me that some of these companies (not all, but some) are charging up-front fees that can be very substantial; upwards of $2000 is not uncommon. I'm concerned that there is little or no accountability for this money in terms of performance of services. I'm concerned that federal and state laws on the subject of loan modification or mortgage relief is skewed to make many (again, not all) of these companies not in compliance with the law. Take a look at California's Mortgage Foreclosure Consultant Act at Civil Code 2945.4(a):

"It shall be a violation for a foreclosure consultant to:
(a) Claim, demand, charge, collect, or receive any compensation until after the foreclosure consultant has fully performed each and every service the foreclosure consultant contracted to perform or represented that he or she would perform."

At the real estate investors show we're co-hostingin Anaheim this morning, I was verypleased to meet Mr. Mark Aviles from Irvine California. His company, based in Irvine, American Mortgage Relief, specializes in loan modifications, and mortgage default workouts.

Mr. Aviles has thought this process through more so than many (again, not necessarily all) of the other companies I have spoken with. He has in-house attornies to review and supervise every loan modification file. He has in-house underwriters to prepare a perfect and approvable mortgage relief package before it is ever seen by the lender. An MOST of all, American Mortgage Relief protects their customers by having them put the fees into escrow. In other words, if they are unable to perform- read that, GET A LOAN MODIFICATION or MORTGAGE RELIEF WORKOUT, then the client's money is simply returned without ever having been in the custody of American Mortgage Relief. That says integrity to me, and I'm happy to help him promote his business. I have no financial interest in his company or his service. This is a much needed service and I hope it is able to help someone who reads this. 

See You Outside the Box!

PS   If you are listing bank owned properties, and the bank is ready to start working with investors, touch base with me. I may be able to introduce you to some aggressive investors who buy in your area.

Go ahead. Click it...  

www.BestInterestRateSearch.com