Mariana Wagner

Scams and Fraud Category

3 Tips on How to Refinance Your Colorado Springs Home to Avoid Foreclosure

• Can you no longer afford the mortgage payments on your Colorado Springs home?
• Are you afraid your bank will foreclose on your home?
• Do you want to KEEP your home?

If you answered “YES” to these questions, you may be able to get help.

Here are some tips for possibly lowering your mortgage payment, avoiding foreclosure and KEEPING your home.

1. DO NOT PAY ANYONE to help you “modify” your mortgage.

Unfortunately, in times like these, there are “scammers” out there trying to take advantage of Colorado Springs homeowners in desperate situations. They charge and up front “fee” and then RARELY (if ever) follow through with helping the homeowner. Now the homeowner is out even MORE cash and may still lose their home to foreclosure.

Read the FTC Report: Federal and State Agencies Crack Down on Mortgage Modification and Foreclosure Rescue Scams

If you are interested in possibly modifying your loan to a payment/interest rate that you can better afford, YOU need to call your bank YOURSELF … for FREE. (Or see Below: Don’t Know Where to Start?]

If you think you have been the victim of a loan modification scam, you can file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission: Visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).

Check out  our Colorado Springs Real Estate and Mortgage Scams and Fraud Section

2. Contact your bank and ask about refinancing to a lower rate or modifying your mortgage.

Specifically, you may qualify for the Making Home Affordable Act if your loan was insured by Freddie Mac (www.freddiemac.com/mymortgage) or Fannie Mae (www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup):

From their site:

Refinancing
Many homeowners pay their mortgages on time but are not able to refinance to take advantage of today’s lower mortgage rates perhaps due to a decrease in the value of their home.

Modification
Many homeowners are struggling to make their monthly mortgage payments perhaps because their interest rate has increased or they have less income.

For More Information, Visit their Site: http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/

3. Contact Your Congressman.

“Several lawmakers whose districts are drowning in foreclosures are taking unprecedented steps to help people stay in their homes, including picking up the phone themselves to negotiate with banks on behalf of their constituents.” – Can’t refinance? Call your congressman (MSNBC 6/5/2009)

If you live in Colorado’s 5th Congressional District (to include Colorado Springs, Fountain, Manitou Springs, Monument, Canon City, Woodland Park, etc.) your congressman is Representative Doug Lamborn.

Be ready to share the details of your situation and how you think he may be able to help. Have all your loan information available as well as a record of all the attempts YOU made that the bank denied or ignored.

How to Contact the Congressman for Colorado Springs (and the rest of the 5th Congressional District)

Doug Lamborn

Don’t Know Where to Start?

If you are overwhelmed and don’t kow where to start … Call the FREE Colorado Foreclosure Hotline:

1-877-601-4673

“The Colorado Foreclosure Hotline connects borrowers with non-profit housing counselors who can provide information on a borrower’s options when facing foreclosure. Counselors can also act as [FREE] facilitators for communication between lenders and borrowers.” - Colorado Department of Local Affairs

Last Resorts – If you cannot refinance or modify the mortgage on your Colorado Springs home, but still want to avoid foreclosure, you may want to consider either SELLING your home (short sale) or renting it out. If this is the case, act immediately. Call us for a FREE, no-obligation, confidential consultation regarding your current situation.

We are a team of Certified Distressed Property Experts and have an EXCELLENT track record of helping folks sell their home to avoid foreclosure:  1.719.434.7525

Times are … interesting. We wish you the best of luck in your situation.

… and don’t forget to breathe.

June 8th, 2009 by Mariana Wagner | 5 Comments »

National Real Estate News Update

Sometimes we need to peek outside of our Colorado Springs real estate market and see what is happening around the nation. Here are some interesting recent headlines:

Investors flock to Detroit’s housing market - The Detroit real estate market has homes for sale for less than $20,000 … some going for mere hundreds of dollars. Investors are “heading north” and buying up a bunch of homes in hopes of turning them into rentals … and selling them for a profit when the market shifts again.

Mortgage rates drop to record low – 30 Year mortgages are at 4.85% FIXED RATE. If you need a better rate on your current mortgage – REFINANCE NOW. If you were ever considering buying a home for sale in Colorado Springs – BUY NOW! Home prices are WAY more affordable and you CANNOT BEAT the current interest rates!

Lenders that the Wagner iTeam work with, that can help you:

• Trace Lee – Pam Childs Team – CB&T Mortgage: 719.785.7105  or  719.785.7115
• Marcy Langlois – Colorado Capital Bank: 719.482.7070

Mortgage fraud reports up 26 percent - Lying on mortgage applications and people scamming distressed homeowners into signing over their deed to “avoid” foreclosure are just 2 instances of mortgage fraud running rampant in the real estate industry right now. Participate in mortgage fraud – go to jail.

Bail Yourself Out ? Here’s How – Several GREAT tips and tricks on how to save money in ALL areas of your life right now.

Smart Money Saving Tips You Need Now – Tips on saving on food, education, utilities, transportation,entertainment and health care. AWESOME!

Where does your state rank? -Americans everywhere are feeling the recession’s pain – some more than others. Colorado is actually looking quite well … comparatively:

Enjoy these news stories and let us know what other national real estate news stories you find!

March 30th, 2009 by Mariana Wagner | Leave A Comment

SELLERS: Is Your Agent Really Representing YOU? (3 Reasons Why I DisTrust the “… or I Will Buy It” Guarantee)

“I will sell your house in 60 Days or I will BUY it!” Wow! What a great guarantee that your home will be SOLD something all Sellers want, right? But, do you really think that the agent who offers that “guarantee” is really the one shelling out the cash to BUY your house?

August 17th, 2007 by Mariana Wagner | Leave A Comment

Credit Cleaning SCAMS …

1. The Home Buyer. If this persons credit is so poor that the only chance of buying a home is by erasing the bad credit, then this person SHOULD NOT BUY A HOME … at least not until he or she gains a little more financial and economic maturity. The credit report is a symbol of how they behave financially. Do you really think that purchasing a home will CURE them of their irresponsible ways? No. No way. This scam will only put them in a situation where the home buyer will probably wind up in a foreclosure and an even WORSE credit situation.
   Also, by providing a “false” credit report to the lender, isnt that a CRIME?
2. The Lender. The lender loaned the home buyer the money partially based off of the credit report, which was ultimately falsified. When (and I say “when” because “if” really isnt appropriate…) the buyer defaults on the loan, the lender will now be dealing with ANOTHER foreclosure. America has seen too many foreclosures already, IMHO…
3. The Real Estate Agent. If a real estate agent goes along with this “credit cleaning” scam, it just shows their unforgivable GREED. If an agent is so desperate that they need to resort to selling homes to non-qualified home buyers, then we have more than a credit-cleaning scam to deal with, here. Dont we? (I will not use this post to get into how many incompetent people are in this business, but this scam sure brings out the “winners” … )
4. The Credit-Scamming, er, Cleaning Company. How much money are they charging these non-credit worthy people to put them (ultimately) in a worse (foreclosure) situation? Fraud. Scam. Crime. What are the penalties for lying to lending institutions, besides a heavy conscious? The mail I received stated: “Creditors and credit reporting agencies have spent millions convincing Americans that credit repair is not possible. Dont be a victim any longer.” Their motto should read: “Be a victim to US instead.”

• www.TransUnion.com
• www.Equifax.com
• www.Experian.com

August 17th, 2007 by Mariana Wagner | Leave A Comment