Foreclosure Rescue Scam Claims Another Victim, This Time in California!
The rise of foreclosure rescue scams has been an unfortunate side effect of the nation's foreclosure crisis, as a Santa Cruz woman can certainly attest to.
A recent Santa Cruz Sentinel story detailed the plight of homeowner Laura Merchant, who responded to a solicitation promising to stop foreclosure on her 1,382 square-foot home a couple of years ago.
At first, Leonard Bernot appeared to be a saving grace from Merchant, who thought she was obtaining a "Band-Aid loan" which would at least temporarily save her home from foreclosure in Santa Cruz.
Merchant later learned that Bernot had duped her into signing a grant deed transferring ownership of the home to him. With the home appraised at $625,000 late in 2004, Bernot took title to the property five days after Christmas of that year.
Just this past May, County Prosecutor William Atkinson filed charges against Bernot, a lending consultant in Orange County. In addition to being accused of violating the California foreclosure consultant law and committing grand theft, Bernot faces a felony charge of unlawful "equity purchase."
The story detailed how experts have noted that longtime homeowners like Merchant are a frequent target of California foreclosure rescue scammers who are looking to drill into built-up equity in homes. While appearing on the surface to be offering temporary financing, these foreclosure rescue scammers present papers that transfer home ownership to them.
Merchant knows this first-hand as Bernot was able to take advantage of her situation after she fell behind on mortgage payments and received a "notice of default." After taking over ownership of the home, Bernot allegedly obtained a loan to pay off the debt and get an additional $90,000 for himself. He pleaded innocent to all charges on June 13th and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on August 13th.
Unfortunately for Merchant, she was duped into losing her home in a time of crisis. Her attorney, Bill Purdy, advised people who need to stop foreclosure in California to avoid all phone and email solicitations promising refinancing. He rather urged these homeowners to consult with their lenders about restructuring their loans.
Purdy also insisted for the need for more regulations and legislation to stop mortgage foreclosure rescue scammers from preying on desperate homeowners, who may find it especially hard to get their homes back after being the victims of such deception. Purdy predicted that the problem will continue in California as foreclosure filings continue to rise.
In May alone, California foreclosures were up 17 percent from April. With 29,530 California foreclosure filings in May, the state was only behind Ohio for the number of foreclosures during that month.
This California Foreclosure Rescue Scam Case Reveals an Important Point!
Ultimately, the story of Laura Merchant teaches an important lesson to people who may need to stop foreclosure in California or somewhere else in the United States. If something appears too good to be true, it probably is. While you be panicking when needing to stop foreclosure, you can not let this feeling lead to rushed and uneducated decisions that can bring on even more stress and harm.
If you're facing foreclosure, take immediate action at Foreclosure-Fighter. Fill out one of our respective online forms or call 1 (877) 219-3153, and we'll help you learn about possible options to stop foreclosure. From refinancing to a debt workout altering mortgage repayment terms to a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case allowing the homeowner to catch up on past due payments, you need to examine your potential options to stop foreclosure and save your home, so don't delay before it's too late.