Bankruptcy and Foreclosures

These days, you can not turn on the news, open a local paper or listen to the radio with out hearing or reading mention of the gloom and doom of the economy.

Public notices of housing auctions fill pages and sometimes whole sections of larger papers. There are help wanted ads as well, but for each position, there are hundreds of applicants. Unemployment is climbing higher and higher, salaries and benefits are dropping and there is desperation amongst consumers and home owners alike.

Anthony Frate an Attorney from Stoneham MA, concludes that "We are having a snowball effect. People try to hang in there for a while, but they can't anymore, particularly when credit card companies are jacking up their interest to 25 percent or 30 percent. People are just overwhelmed.''

People are now working not just one, but two and maybe three jobs to make ends meet. Some workers are doing what they would call imaginable to them. They do it to just get by. There does not seem to be any kind of profit margin here.

If the preceding was not hard enough for the people to handle, there is also a new job title that is doing quite well in this economy; The Scam artist. People are being hit hard by scams. These scams are promising to save their home, save their credit and give them piece of mind. We need to keep in mind the old cliché, "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

These people are not taking your situation in mind. They are there to make money and that is it. If you can put them on retainer for $1000.00 and ten others do the same, they have just made $10,000. They may send you what looks to be like official documents from your mortgage bank. You will feel that they have done their job. They now try to get more money out of you and/or even get you to sign the deed over them to be put in a special account. Well, if you do this, you may have just lost your house to someone who does not care about you or your situation. When in doubt, confer with a reputable attorney who can guide you through this process and the "TRUE" measures to keep you in your house.

Richard L. Wise, an Attorney in Salem MA spoke candidly regarding the scam artists by saying "they charge fees and promise to keep the wolves at bay, and don't follow through. You need everything in writing for what they are promising to do." He went on to further suggest that "you as the consumer should have the right to ask for a clause in the contract stating that if they are unsuccessful, all of your payments will be refunded." He feels that a scam artist will simply say yes and not follow up with you again, while those that are honest and trusted business people will gladly state their guarantee.

The caveat here is that nothing can be a substitute for sound legal advice from an attorney who is admitted to the bar in your jurisdiction who specializes in matters of this nature.