Upside Down Mortgage

Archive for January, 2007

Mortgage Fraud Protection Agency

Identity theft professionals are becoming greedier and more proficient at their "game." Identity theft is no longer limited to unpaid credit cards, small credit loans, but with the booming real estate market there is fast cash there for the conniving individual to make.

Mortgage fraud through identity theft is the second most common mortgage fraud scheme. The FTC reported in 2004 that $429 million dollars in damages for home mortgage fraud hoaxed and approximately $1.1 million dollars lost on commercial loans.

Mortgage fraud through identity theft occurs in several different ways. First a person may apply for a loan for a new home or for a home equity loan using your personal and financial information. The home equity loan is most often on the house that you are residing in, thus making this the easiest hoax to commit. Knowledge of an individual's date of birth, social security number, as well as address makes it easy for victimization to occur.

Secondly, mortgage fraud may occur in a fake sale of your home. One thief will assume your identity and "sell" the property to another thief. With mortgage loan money in hand, both thieves get away and no real sale occurs. However, there have been instances where the homeowner's identity was stolen and the home was sold to a legitimate buyer and the thief gets away with the money, the buyers have no new home and the original homeowner is left with the messy business of re-establishing his identity and his credit.

In most cases, the banks are the ones most damaged by these types of schemes. A legitimate homeowner did not take out the loan, so may not be held liable, but they don't get off with out any damage at all. Many hours and much money may be required to correct the credit problems that are a result of identity theft, particularly when the theft results in large sums of money being stolen. Then there is the additional effort to protect their future credit and personal information.

Those most likely to be victims of mortgage fraud are the elderly, established homeowners, and those who have a great deal of equity in their homes. Equity information is readily available through an online title search and the use of tracking property values in the area.

Homeowners need to do the following to protect their homes and their credit.

- Monitor your credit report, receive regular updates, and stay informed;

- Immediately contact any lenders that provide information on your credit report when you discover pieces of information that are mistakes of fact or that you don't know or recognize;

- Read your social security benefits statement when it comes in the mail to determine if anyone has already claimed your benefits.

- Be wary of communications regarding your home, real estate, personal or mortgage information including special "offers" to help you with your mortgage or interest rate.

- You may need to educate your parents or other elderly individuals with their credit protection plans.

- Install an anti virus and spyware software system on your computer to protect your personal and financial information.

Early detection and reporting of mortgage fraud schemes is important. With mortgage fraud, consumers may lose their property, their savings, and their credit rating. Secondly, lenders are affected by the loss of money, security, and assets in their company, not to mention the lack of trust resulting from these types of rackets.

If a victim of this type of crime, it should be reported to The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) http://www.fbi.gov/ (202) 324-3000 - National FBI Financial Institution Fraud Unit. However, there are a possible 18 other government agencies, banking, consumer, and fraud reporting agencies as well as other consumer resources available to consumers depending on the type and method of mortgage fraud that occurred. For a complete list of resources, visit Mortgage News Daily http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/Mortgage_Fraud/National_Resources.asp

Consumers can try to stop identity theft before it happens by being forewarned and vigilant. If you are a victim of identity theft, in particular mortgage fraud you will have the information you need to correctly and quickly report the theft and take the steps necessary to begin to repair your credit.

About the Author:

Lisa Carey is a contributing author for
Identity Theft Secrets: prevention and protection
. You can get tips on Identity theft protection, software, and monitoring your credit as well as learn more about the secrets used by identity thieves at the
Identity Theft Secrets blog

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - What Every Homeowner Should Know About Mortgage Fraud And Identity Theft

President Obama Speech on Financial Regulatory Reform

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Loan Modification How It Works

Question: Is it necessary to hire a lawyer when doing a loan modification?

Even if you are close to foreclosure, and the bank has sent your file to a law firm? Do those companies that charge a fee upfront work? Are they successful in modifying a loan?

Answer: They do that every single day, so they know exactly what are doing, I have listed a resource where you can find some reputable ones.

Loan Modification Process - Loan Modification Process

Mortgage Modification Tips

The climate of the economy has made many lose their jobs, face pay cuts and endure lay-offs. The problems faced by all are universal. The mortgage payments payable monthly by homeowners has risen out of proportion to a person's capacity to pay. Therefore, defaults naturally follow suit resulting in the risk of losing their homes by the borrowers of home loans. There are many lenders in the market and if Chase Bank is your lender than this article will be of immense help for you.

The Chase Bank Mortgage Loan modification is a great break-through for many suffering homeowners by saving their homes from auction due to non-payments of their monthly dues. The bank stipulates certain terms and conditions which are user friendly. The bank insists on informing the mortgagor before they default a payment. This will help the bank to depute a representative for a free and frank discussion with the borrower. The borrower shall be ready with his last two-month bank statement, income tax statement along with the pay slips and hardship letter. Each customer is treated as a separate entity and their income and expenses assessment are used to draw a suitable plan to avoid defaults.

The Bank's Foreclosure Rescue program is unique by preventing foreclosure before 5 days of foreclosure by holding it through reviewing the customer file. The other Enhanced Streamline Refinance Program rescues the borrowers from its adjustable mortgage rates to fixed mortgages rate with full ease. The banks get the help of the community group to meet the borrowers in public places like hotels and churches. Such efforts help the borrowers to get themselves clear on the banks efforts to save their homes by suitable retrieval packages. Project Lifeline needs a mention here in which the bank also joined which have a unique package to save the homeowners who are ninety days behind their payments from stopping the foreclosure process for a period of thirty days. It has bailed out many homeowners who have problems in repaying their dues for primary homes and not just the sub-prime borrowers through refinance deals.

The performance of the plan is also very impressing with settling of fifty-one percent of chase serviced sub prime ARMs (about fifty-nine percent of the full dollar amount) which were due for resettlement by March 2008. The prime borrowers received help to modify and refinance an amount greater than 415 million dollars. JP Morgan Chase Bank's Mortgage Modification Program has helped millions of Americans to gain financial stability.
About the Author:

For detailed information on How to Obtain a Chase Bank Mortgage Modification, visit MortgageModificationTips.com.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Mortgage Modification - JP Morgan Chase Bank Loan Modification

Tips for Negotiating a Loan Modification on Your Mortgage