By Sandy Flores

Real estate instructor at the College of Santa Ana

“Foreclosures are affecting many homeowners and communities, which sadly dishonest financial staff appreciate that the strategy of collecting scarce dollars of these families with financial difficulties, offered in exchange empty promises and false claims” said Caroline H. Krewson, and deputy regional director of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD for its acronym in English) of Region IX. “It’s criminal when that happens as a result of a natural disaster, as well as criminal when it happens to families facing financial disaster.”

 HUD warns caution for homeowners in California, which remain the target of false promises from unscrupulous companies try to profit from families who are facing difficulties in paying their mortgages with unfair promises that promise them they can avoid foreclosure. HUD officials urge homeowners who are experiencing problems with their mortgage payments to seek help of professional counseling companies, licensed and approved by HUD, offering guidance and advice to avoid foreclosure.

Congress has provided HUD with resources to guide and advise families facing foreclosure at no cost to the homeowner. HUD also warned that some homeowners are getting emails and advertising materials that prompt contact with companies that have names using variations of the official name of the HUD site.

The HUD official Internet address where you can find more information is www.hud.gov and sites ending in hud.us-gov or hud.com or hudgov.us or any other variation of these addresses are not websites HUD officials.

The most frequent forms of advertising are seen as:

Specialists in foreclosure prevention that are only apparent counselors who charge high fees with false promises to avoid losing their property.

Such promises give owners an imaginary sense of hope and confidence to expose all your personal financial information.

The lease and subsequent purchase of a home. One of the most common cases is that in encouraging homeowners to sign a “transfer document” on the rights of the property with the alleged promises that can remain in the property as tenants and then buy the property. Unfortunately many homeowners in these cases end up being evicted from the property in a short period and having been making the monthly repayments agreed by these companies.

The FTC (Federal Trade Commission, FTC) works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent and deceptive practices business and provides information and assistance to consumers to prevent these illegal activities.

FTC deals with issues concerning the economic life of every American resident. It is the only federal agency that has jurisdiction both in the area of consumer protection and in the field of competition in broad sectors of the economy. To get free information on consumer issues, visit the web at: www.ftc.gov / index_es.shtml or you can call toll-free 1 (877) FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).

Keep in mind that it is vital to learn, investigate and consult before making any transaction or business to avoid falling into an even worse situation where your choices can be used up. Know what company or group of professionals being treated. It is your responsibility to request proper identification, as well as the number of the license issued by the State of California and, even better, professional references.

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