Mortgage Scams Lead to Debt And Harassment

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The Federal Trade Commission has stepped up its investigations and prosecutions of mortgage relief scam artists. Since the start of 2013, the FTC has obtained settlements from over 20 individuals and companies involved with scamming distressed homeowners. In the most recent cases, two individuals and seven companies settled FTC charges that they victimized more than a thousand people through “mass joinder lawsuits” and “forensic loan audits.” They violated the Mortgage Assistance Relief Services (MARS) Rule, which was set up to curb deceptive and unfair practices related to such services.

The FTC contends that Sameer Lakhany, Brian Pacios, Precision Law Center, Inc., Precision Law Center LLC, National Legal Network, Inc., and Assurity Law Group, Inc. targeted consumers with a mass joinder scam. They promised homeowners that they could stop their foreclosures or obtain some other mortgage relief if they joined together to sue the lenders. The defendants represented themselves as a law firm called Precision Law Center, charging between $6,000 and $10,000 in up-front fees. But every suit was dismissed soon after it was filed; the victims saw none of the promised relief.

One of the scam artists, Lakhany, was also involved in a “forensic loan audit” scam, along with The Credit Shop, LLC, Titanium Realty, Inc., and Fidelity Legal Services LLC. These defendants called themselves nonprofit organizations, with domain names like “FreeFedLoanMod.org,” “HouseholdRelief.org,” and “MyHomeSupport.org;” but really they sold people an auditing service, which supposedly found lender violations in mortgage documents. The defendants charged $800 to nearly $1,600 for this service, which never led to a single favorable loan modification for the victims.

The FTC settlements require the defendants to surrender many assets and pay $4.75 million in restitution. All except Assurity Law Group, Inc. are banned from mortgage relief and debt relief services; Assurity is required to surrender $100,000 in funds and has been ordered to cease any deceptive practices. In February, the FTC settled with another predatory group, composed of Ryan Zimmerman, Consumer Advocates Group Experts, LLC, Paramount Asset Management Corporation, and Advocates for Consumer Affairs Expert, LLC. These entities also used the forensic loan audit scam, and charged people almost $2,000 or more for the audits-they failed to make good on their false claims. Besides receiving a $3.5 million judgment against them, the defendants are banned from marketing relief services or products, and from making any misleading claims about any other type of product or service.

In January 2013, eight other defendants settled with the FTC, for selling fake relief services to distressed Spanish-speaking homeowners over the phone. The defendants-David F. Preiner, Daniel Hungria, Freedom Companies Marketing, Inc., Freedom Companies Lending, Inc., Freedom Companies, Inc., Grupo Marketing Dominicana, Freedom Information Services, Inc., and Haiti Management, Inc-collected over $2 million from people over three years. They simply didn’t provide the services they said they could. Part of this settlement, in which the defendants received a $2.39 million judgment, bans them from marketing relief products or services, and from making misleading claims about anything they advertise.

Debt Recovery in a Tough Economic Climate

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At Canadian Corporate Legal Services we take a kinder gentler approach to negotiating for debt recovery. Our method is to avoid alienation when working with people and companies who owe our clients money and try not to alienate them. Due to the current economical crisis people who owe money are generally nervous about unfair debt collection. Hostile phone call and letters is not an affective method and can be emotionally draining for both parties. Our approach is to appeal to their morals and good nature while of course pointing out the additional cost and consequences of not clearing the outstanding balance. Our negotiations for debt recovery are often effective but if not we have the option of court to find the best way to proceed.

Many of our long-term clients come from companies that we have previously negotiated with successfully for debt collections. A proof that our kinder gentler to negotiating for debt recovery approach can work for your company as well. We like to work with our clients internationally to help them manage their account receivables and bad debt load. Here are some things to consider. Consider your CREDIT:

C ash Flow

Do you have the necessary cash flow?

R eceivables

Do you have a system?

E valuation

How do you assess your customers ability to pay?

D ebt

How do you collect overdue accounts?

I ncome

Does your price reflect the price of granting credit?

T erms

What terms are normal for your industry?

If you have a question about an outstanding debt or your accounts receivable issues please call at: 416.784.3770 or email us at .

Getting the Best Interest Rate on Your Mortgage

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Buying a home is an expensive endeavor so getting the best possible interest rate should be one of your main priorities.
By deciding to get the best mortgage rate possible you will be making a positive decision to help you for many years to come. However, just deciding to get the best interest rate available is not going to get you the best rate available. Instead, you will need to learn the tips and tricks for negotiating with your mortgage lender in order to receive the best possible mortgage rate for your personal situation.

Interest Rate Tip #1 Origination Fee
Your mortgage rate might be low in your mind, but you must take the origination fee into account as well because this can increase your APR. Lenders frequently charge 1%, but you can always negotiate the mortgage rate origination fee lower, usually with a little higher rate. Also, if the origination fee is much higher than 1% you need to either negotiate it down, or find another lender with a more favorable overall origination charge.ge.

Mortgage Rate Tip #2 Lock in the Rate
When negotiating your mortgage rate, make sure your lender is prepared to lock in your rate for at least 30-60 days. This way you will be guaranteed a particular rate even if rates skyrocket the next day. Another trick many individuals are not aware of is to include a clause that also will allow you to take a lower rate if rates fall during this period. This is a great mortgage rate tip because you get your mortgage rate locked in so it can’t go any higher, but if the average mortgage rate goes lower you receive the lower rate.

Mortgage Rate Tip #3 Fight
If the mortgage rate drops significantly and you have already signed a deal locking in a particular mortgage rate and don’t have a clause that ensures you will receive the lower rate, then you need to fight. You simply need to call your lender and say that while you signed the lock in agreement you want the lower rate. This will take some negotiating , but your lender wants you business and might be willing to negotiate the mortgage rate with you.

If you want to find the best Mortgage Banker/Lender for your situation, try this website:
www.mortgageseeker.biz Scott is a Financial Nike with over 18 years in the Mortgage industry and the Debt Relief industry. He has written many article on the subjects of Debt Relief and Mortgage Financing.

Exactly Why This Can Be A Great Time To Buy Mortgage Leads

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Despite the news on the housing sector, it is actually an exciting time to buy residences at this time. The combination of an strengthening economy and low prices results in many choices for those in search of new homes or refinancing for the ones they use. When there is a requirement for housing and a recovered ability of many Americans to fund their mortgages, you will see a market for those who buy mortgage leads.

In search of prospects

There exists a belief that folks who buy mortgage leads should consider: even during times of trouble, there exists possibilities. Although the housing sector has not yet recovered with the losses it took at the start of the Great Recession, even a scenario similar to this provides many chances for those who could make excellent use of them.

Take for instance the values of residences. Property values have hardly ever been lower in quite a long time. This was tragic for most homeowners, but this is an opportunity for others to buy their own dream home. They already have the money to pay for financing, but they might be holding back since they have no idea where they are able to acquire reasonable stipulations.

Individuals like that could be outstanding prospects for those who buy mortgage leads. Should you play your cards right, the deal you close could lead you to creating a permanent customer. The people you might be talking to concerning the financing terms for their new home may possibly know other people thinking about the assistance you can give.

Furthermore, the revitalizing economy has brought back the means for families and people to fund mortgages. Those who buy mortgage leads have to be ready with their offers since recovering families and folks are looking for the best refinancing terms so they can maintain their dream home.

This is especially true for hot transfers. With the economy revitalizing, there will be a lot more people in a position to refinance their home loan. Time may not be on their side so you may have to become prompt or other people who buy mortgage leads will certainly take hold of the prospect you ignored.

The need for exclusivity

Obviously, it could help those who buy mortgage leads if the details they possess is reliable. You could have sealed a deal or two with the effort you expended chasing bad leads. If the origin of your leads could vouch for you of the dependability of a possible client’s info, you don’t have to worry about getting a bad lead which enable you to just focus on concluding the deal.

Moreover, there are times when the firm you buy mortgage leads from provides a lead multiple times. There are the real unethical ones who resell a lead ten times or even more. A reputable one will sell a lead just a couple times. Besides, you are not the only real refinancing offer around.

If you want to improve your closing amount by getting sound, reliable leads, take a look at exclusive mortgage leads. This ensures you that your lead not only has reliable facts but also that this has not been offered to a dozen individuals that buy mortgage leads. You will get first crack on exclusive mortgage leads, to help you to anticipate a good closing percentage.

How Offset Mortgages Work for Fixed and Tracker Mortgages

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For consumers who are looking to save money on their home loans, the first option is usually to opt for a home loan that offers the lowest interest rate. While this path works well for those that want to limit themselves to the standard products currently on the market, a home loan option that more and more people are considering is an offset mortgage. With these loans consumers offset the value of the loan with another investment, such as savings in a current a account. While offsetting was previously considered a niche product, with Bank of England interest rates currently so low, this product is gaining in popularity with more and more homebuyers. As a result, many lenders are now offering offset home loans that are increasingly competitive and also more affordable for the average homebuyer. This article will discuss what offset home loans are, and what their advantages and disadvantages are.

Offsetting

When consumers take out a standard loan on their property, they typically expect to pay a certain interest rate for the entire sum borrowed. So a 100,000 loan with an APR of five per cent will see the borrower paying 5,000 per year in interest on that loan. Offset loans, however, work a bit differently. With these loans, the borrower can still take out the same 100,000 loan, but he would then offset that loan with whatever savings he has, such as a current account or, in some cases, an Isa. As a result, he will no longer earn interest from his savings, but he will be able to reduce his interest payments on his offset mortgage. For example, that same borrower with a 100,000 loan who offsets it with 25,000 in savings would effectively only pay interest on 75,000 of the loan.

Advantages

Since current Bank of England interest rates are extremely low, most consumers are making even less than the rate of inflation on the savings they have in their current accounts. In contrast, interest rates on home loans are typically much higher than the Bank of England rate, meaning sacrificing the interest from savings for the sake of paying less in interest rates on a home loan makes financial sense for many people. Additionally, since the interest made on current accounts is taxable, homeowners will effectively be able to avoid paying tax on those savings by using that account to offset a home loan. Finally, in most instances monthly repayments are based on the total value of the loan, meaning that even though that same homeowner is only paying interest on 75,000 of a 100,000 loan, he will still be making repayments based on the full 100,000. As a result, he will in effect be able to pay down his loan faster.

Disadvantages

While an offset loan can be a great way to pay less in interest, it is not necessarily for everybody. As with standard home loans, offset loans are available as either fixed-rate or tracker mortgages. The difference, however, is that the interest rates are usually slightly higher for an offset loan than they would be for a standard loan. As a result, an offset loan is likely to work best for those who have a large amount of savings that they want to use as an offset. While many tracker mortgages, and even some fixed-rate loans, will offer attractive rates to begin with, it is important to keep in mind that these are typically introductory offers. Once that introductory period ends consumers could be stuck with an interest rate that is uncompetitive even with a large offset. Also, while consumers will still be able to access their savings, they need to be aware that if they withdraw money from their savings then the amount offset against their loan will likewise decrease. Finally, there are often additional restrictions, such as high minimum deposits and rules stipulating that the account that is being used to offset the loan must be held with the same lending institution that is offering the loan.

While offset home loans are not necessarily for everyone, consumers who have a large or even moderate amount of savings should be aware of them. In the past few years, these loans have become increasingly affordable and are now available to anyone that wants to make sure their money is working a little bit harder.