Foreclosure scams prey on the elderly

You’ve probably heard the commercials on your radio, or maybe seen them on late-night T.V.: Someone promises they can save you from falling into foreclosures.

Most of these “rescues” are scams. The homeowners who sign up for them end up paying exorbitant fees and interest rates to keep their homes from falling into foreclosure. The best bet, by the way, for people who do fear foreclosure is to immediately call their mortgage lenders. Most times, the lenders, who don’t benefit at all from foreclosures, will do their best to work out a solution.

Last week, officials with the National Association of Realtors, speaking before the Senate Special Committee on Aging, called for increased funding for programs that provide financial assistance, counseling and consumer education to borrowers to help them avoid both foreclosures and foreclosure scams. You can read about it here.

These foreclosure scams often target the elderly. According to the Realtors’ association, the elderly make a particularly attractive target to scammers because many older American’s net worth lies in their home equity. There’s a lot of money there for scammers to tap.

I appreciate the fact that the Realtor association is speaking out about this problem. And to anyone who hears those radio and T.V. come-ons: Avoid them. No one promising to rescue you from foreclosure has your best interests at heart. If you are falling behind in your monthly mortgage payments, do the sensible thing: Call your lender to work out a solution.