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~~~ <br />Look ~ <br />Before you leap <br />LOAN MODIFICATION SCAM <br />ALERT <br />Minnesota Home <br />Ownership Center <br />1000 Payne Avenue, Suite 200 <br />St. Paul, MN 55130 <br />Ph: (651)659-9336 <br />Toll Free: (866) 462-6466 <br />~/ ~~+`1 <br /> <br /> <br />"Look Before You Leap" is at statewide public education campaign raising public awareness <br />about the booming mortgage rescue scam industry and its dangerous implications for <br />struggling and unsuspecting home owners, and to connecting struggling home owners <br />with the state's network of free, trusted nonprofit foreclosure counselors. It is led by the <br />Minnesota Home Ownership Center, in partnership with NeighborWorks® America and <br />continues to build support from organizations across Minnesota: <br />1. Mortgage foreclosure scams are <br />booming <br />The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) <br />received only one complaint of a <br />foreclosure scam in 2008. But by the <br />end of 2009, the number of <br />complaints swelled to 7,927. <br />2. Scams Strip home owners of their <br />savings, their home... or both <br />At their best, for-profit companies <br />charge home owners thousands of <br />dollars for help that is already available <br />in Minnesota for free. At their worst, <br />scams are robbing already vulnerable <br />home owners of their home, their life's <br />savings, or both. <br />3. Everyone benefits from stopping <br />foreclosures <br />Each foreclosure costs over $78,000 <br />when totaling the costs to neighbors, <br />home owners, cities and lenders <br />according to the Joint Economic <br />Committee of Congress. <br />~~ Be On °~e iLcu~couf For .~. <br />Be wary of companies offering help <br />that... <br />• Charge fees for their services <br />• Ask you to sign over title to your <br />home or even power of attorney <br />• Claim you should stop paying your <br />mortgage during the loan <br />modification process <br />• Claim you should pay them, rather <br />than your bank <br />• Promise a guaranteed outcome or <br />claim they can help people in any <br />situation <br />4. Stopping foreclosures starts with <br />ending scams <br />Predatory stammers often hide in <br />plain sight with ads on the radio, <br />online and in our communities. Help <br />put an end to predatory scams by <br />reporting them to the Minnesota <br />Attorney General. <br />S. And turning home owners to real <br />local resources they can trust <br />Struggling home owners should <br />contact the statewide network of 24 <br />non-profit agencies who offer FREE <br />foreclosure relief and credit counseling <br />to Minnesotans statewide. Go to <br />www.LookBeforeYouLeap.org to find a <br />counselor near you. <br />?) Kpow The Answers To ... <br />Before agreeing to work with any <br />company for mortgage help, know <br />the answers to these questions: <br />• Has the organization registered <br />with the Minnesota Department of <br />Commerce as an approved loan <br />modification organization? <br />• Does the organization charge a fee <br />at any point in the work? <br />• Does the organization benefit <br />financially from the course of <br />action they are recommending? <br />LookBeforeYou Leap.org <br />