Avoiding Foreclosure: Freddie Mac Says Call Before You Miss The First Payment
Freddie Mac is a quasi governmental company that buys mortgages from the banks and lenders who originates them. Their guidelines for the loans that they will buy are called “conforming†loans. Occasionally, even the loans with much stricter guidelines go bad, but not nearly as often as the “sub-prime†loans that have caused all the trouble in the housing market.
Freddie Mac has a great primer on how to avoid foreclosure on the site.
Scam Artists Rush In When Times Are Tough
One of the hottest new scams right now is in the “we’ll help you keep your home†promotions.
Last month the LA TIMES wrote about one sad story. Even more depressing is that it’s being repeated all over the country, and of course the city with the most foreclosures (3 guesses) is being hit really hard by the scammers.
Typically, the scam starts with a “street spam†sign or an innocent, helpful sounding ad on craiglist or in the classifed ads in the newpaper.
As often or not, they can end up stealing your home, tying your hands to do something else that might truly help, or getting real help from your own lender.
The news this week has been full of news about new government programs, FHA loan programs to help refinance, and lots of other ways to TRULY get help to save the home from foreclosure.
First things first, preferably before you miss a payment, CALL YOUR LENDER AND TELL THEM YOUâ€RE STORY! Then call the phone number that the president misquoted the other day. The REAL number is 1–888–995–HOPE
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