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If you feel that your lender has wrongfully foreclosed... you might be right.
 
 Mortgage Loan Servicers routinely misapply mortgage loan payments, or fail to provide adequate Customer Services to those whose mortgage loans are delinquent, in default, or in foreclosure.
 
For a confidential, no obligation review of the unusual circumstances,
please have handy the most recent letter from your mortgage lender(s).

For immediate assistance, you may email us at NJSPOCH

then COMPLETE THIS FORM
 
If you’ve been victimized by mortgage loan servicers’ unfriendly or unauthorized tactics... please share your experience by posting a message on 
 

Top 10 Signs of a Predatory Lending

The questions below are a good way for you to know if someone could be misleading you about a loan and its costs to you. Just because you answer "yes" to these questions does not mean you are or have been a victim of predatory lending. Contact us to a) discuss your suspicions, and b) possibly register a complaint.

1. If you have a balloon loan (one in which after a series of low pay-ments the entire loan balance is due in a large lump sum),will you need to obtain another loan to finance that final lump-sum amount?

2. Were you required to buy credit insurance, insurance that will repay the debt if you die or become disabled? (Note: Credit insurance is optional and will not affect your loan decision if you decline to buy it. It can, however, add considerable cost to the loan transaction. You should decide whether you are going to pur-chase credit insurance carefully.)

3. Have you refinanced your loan several times, and in each instance increased either your monthly payment and/or the total amount you owe on your home?

4. After settlement, were you surprised to find that the monthly payments on your mortgage loan were higher than you anticipated based on the initial disclosures?

5. Did you incur any unexpected costs at settlement that were not explained to you prior to the settlement?

6. Were you asked to leave signature lines or any other important line-item of any form blank? Did the lender or broker alter any information you entered on your loan application?

7. Check your loan file. Are any of the following disclosures missing?

Good Faith Estimate

Special Information Booklet

Truth in Lending

HUD-1 Settlement Statement

8. Do your documents reveal that your interest rate calculation will change to require you to pay "daily interest" in instances when your payments are late?

9. Is your loan amount on the loan you obtained higher than the value of the home?

10. Were you encouraged to include false information on your loan application?





Creditors know that you don't know the collection laws. As common practice, they use this to their advantage by employing tactics of intimidation and harassment to collect money from you. It may be illegal for them to do this.


"Knowledge is Power"


The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a federal law that governs the conduct of debt collectors and outlaws many abusive collection practices.


GOT A COMPLAINT ABOUT A SPECIFIC LENDER?

Chances are, others do too! Click here & Let your voices be heard!


To begin the ardous process of documenting and registering a complaint, the following Resources &/or Agencies may be able to help:


  • Federal Trade Commission

  • Emergency Mortgage Relief

  • The Federal Reserve Board

  • Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

  • Office of Thrift Supervision

  • Consumer Credit Handbook

  • Find The Law

  • NJ Statutes

  • American Civil Liberties Union

  • National Consumer Advocates

  • Credit Repair Act

  • Credit Repair Fraud


  • Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act-HUD









      NEWSRELEASE
      Office of the Comptroller • Department of Banking and Finance • State of Florida
      Tallahassee, FL 32399-0350 •

      FEAR OF FORECLOSURE MAKES YOU PRIME BAIT FOR FRAUD ARTISTS
      In South Florida recently, a mother with two children was days away from losing her home in a mortgage foreclosure, when she received a call from a company offering legal assistance to stall the proceeding—for a fee. With nowhere else to turn, she paid the company cash, hoping to stop the action. While the company did write a letter to the court, it never had any legal means to stop the foreclosure. Without a written contract specifically detailing what the company had promised, the woman not only lost the advance fee she paid—she lost her home.

      Her story is not unusual. The Comptroller's Ft. Lauderdale Regional Office has reported an increase in home mortgage foreclosure complaints. Typically, a company uses court records to obtain the names of homeowners facing foreclosure. For about $500 to $1,000 in cash, the company claims it will contact the court on the homeowner’s behalf. The company writes a letter to the court but fails to provide a legal remedy, and the family loses its home.

      To avoid being taken in by these con artists, Comptroller Robert F. Milligan offers the following suggestions:


      By the time a mortgage lender resorts to court for collection, there is little hope of stopping foreclosure proceedings. However, if you think someone can help, find out who they have assisted in the past—before paying any fees. Obtain all the information you can about the person or company, and call previous clients to see if they received the services promised. Your money may be better spent hiring a good attorney.
      It is always better to contact your mortgage company directly and work out a revised payment schedule before you get to foreclosure. If that isn’t possible, go to a reputable financial institution, a credit counseling center, or your local Better Business Bureau (BBB) for assistance.
      Foreclosure assistance companies are not regulated, but the Florida Comptroller licenses and regulates financial institutions such as banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, finance companies, and mortgage brokers that may be able to offer advice or assistance. For more information, call the Comptroller's Consumer Hotline at 1-800-848-3792.




    Here are some of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Law's Highlights:

    • Consumer Credit
      Interest rates on credit card, auto loan, mortgage and other kinds of debt can be cut to 6% if a military obligation creates a financial hardship. Contact the creditors and be prepared to to furnish copies of military orders.
    • Leases
      You can invoke the Law to break a lease on a dwelling, office, or even farm land if the Contract was entered into before miitary activation.
    • Evictions
      If you are about to be evicted from a dwellng whose rent is less than $1,200 per month, you can apply to the Court for a postponement of three months, or whatever the Judge says is proper.
    • Installment Contracts & Auto Leases
      If at least one payment was made toward such a debt, the service member or spouse can request relief. The service member must show that the debt is a burden and a consequence of the new, presumably reduced, finacial situation. Also, generally, the debt had to be incurred before active duty called. As for National Guard members, the law kicks in only when members work in a Federal capacity, and does not apply when members are activated by a State Governor to protect airports, for instance.
    • Contact
      For answers to specific questions, check with the Judge Advocate General at the nearest military base with such an office, or check: DEFENSE LINK


      Victims' families get help

      The federal government will open offices today in New York and Washington to begin taking applications for the victims compensation fund.

      Q. Who qualifies?


      A. The families of people who died or those who were seriously injured as a direct result of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks either at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon or in western Pennsylvania.


      Q. Is there a minimum award?


      A. Yes. The families of married victims would get at least $500,000 and the estates of single victims would get at least $300,000.


      Q. Is there a maximum?


      A. Technically, no. Though the rules do not increase awards above an income ceiling of $225,000, claimants can argue for higher awards before the special master or his designate. The fund itself has no cap. It is expected to cost a total of $6 billion.


      Q. Are the awards from the federal victims compensation fund taxable?


      A. No. All awards are tax-exempt.


      Q. Do all the benefits come from the federal government?


      A. No. The award estimate issued yesterday will be reduced by the amount claimants receive from "collateral source compensation," which includes money that victims' families receive from life insurance policies, job-related death benefits, awards from other government programs or other sources.


      Q. What about benefits that victims' families may have received from charitable groups like the Red Cross or the Sept. 11 Fund?


      A. Money received from charitable organizations will not be deducted from award totals.


      Q. Who will decide who qualifies as the legal representative of individual victims?


      A. The special master left such questions to state courts, which will decide thorny issues involving same-sex couples, illegitimate children and disputes among surviving family members.


      Q. Where and when can claimants file for benefits?


      A. Claimants may call (888) 714-3385.

 
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