Foreclosure is a nightmare – the threat of losing your home can cause more anxiety and stress than you’ve ever felt before. In fact, your head might be spinning at the mere thought of losing the house you and your family have worked so hard to make a home. What’s worse there may be some unscrupulous players who may try to take advantage of you with foreclosure scams.

5 Common Foreclosure Scams

1. Equity Skimming

Someone who calls themselves a “buyer” knocks on your door and convinces you to sell your home to them, usually for less than market value. They may tell you to transfer your deed to them, move out of your home, and stop communicating with your lender. The “buyer” will likely rent out your property to someone else and collect the money, but never pay your mortgage – your lender has no choice but to foreclose on your property, leaving you and your family without a home.

The buyer might even sell the property, making a profit from whatever equity you may have in your home.

2. Equity Stripping

A dishonest lender might try scamming you with equity stripping by offering to help you get a loan. The lender is probably aware of your financial situation and will pressure you into exaggerating your income in order to get the loan approved. Even though you are nervous about being able to pay back the loan, you accept it because you need the money. When you default on the loan, your lender swoops in to foreclose on your home, stripping you of any equity you may have had on your home.

3. Phony Counseling Agencies

A phony counseling agency may offer their services – for an outrageous fee, they make some inexpensive phone calls and complete some paperwork that you could have done yourself. Their goal is to mislead you, distract you, and keep the flow of money coming.

4. Lender Scams

An unscrupulous lender might offer to rescue you from foreclosure by refinancing your home with lower mortgage payments. Sounds great, right? That is, right up until you realize that you still owe a massive lump sum – and if you can’t make the payment, you and your family lose everything you have worked so hard for.

5. Loan Flipping

Your lender might offer to refinance your loan and even waive some extra cash under your nose. If you accept the loan and start making payments, the lender might even tempt you with another refinance and more cash. The big problem is that the cash adds up to much less than you’ll be paying in additional fees and added costs charged by the lender for refinancing your loan.

Ohio Foreclosure Defense Attorney Helps Homeowners Avoid Lending Scams

If you are facing foreclosure, a qualified foreclosure defense attorney can help you avoid foreclosure scams. Cozmyk Law is a foreclosure law firm, which has a long history of helping Ohio families avoid scams and stay in their homes.