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The Promise To Secure Loan Modifications For an Upfront Fee Lands 5 Orange County Men In Jail.

March 5, 2012 By 1 Comment

A 2009 California law protects homeowners forbidding any person or business to charge an upfront fee for loan modification services was breached.
The five are charged with at least seven counts of felony grand theft and other charges are:

  • Jacob J. Cunningham, 24, of Irvine
  • Justin D. Koelle, 23, of Costa Mesa
  • Andrew M. Phalen, 25, of Mission Viejo
  • Dominic A. Nolan, 30, of Irvine
  • John D. Silva, 27, of Irvine.

Federal officials were assisted in the investigation by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Huntington Beach police, the California Department of Real Estate and other state and local agencies.

The 5 men started fraudulent businesses promising they could secure loan modifications for an upfront fee that was refundable if no help was obtained, but they kept the money, according to a statement Friday by Christy Romero, the inspector general who oversees the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Along with asking for upfront fees and pocketing home owners money they are also accused of regularly changing the names, phone numbers and addresses of the companies they operated, including CSFA Home Solutions, Mortgage Solution Specialists Inc., CS & Associates and National Mortgage Relieve Center.
Investigators said three of the men, Cunningham, Nolan and Silva operated a separate scheme in which they sent out forged “conditional approval” letters to homeowners with forged logos from popular mortgage banking departments of CitiFinancial or CitiMortgage. The letters allegedly promised potential

Three of the five can be found on Facebook. Below are their profile photos.

Andrew M. Phalen, 25

Andrew M. Phalen, 25

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jacob J. Cunningham, 24

Jacob J. Cunningham, 24

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dominic A. Nolan

Dominic A. Nolan

 

Filed Under: Real Estate News Tagged With: Fraud Mortgage, Home Loan Scams, Loan Modification, Mortgage Foreclosure Fraud, Mortgage Fraud, Mortgage Scams

As a Homeowner How Do I Know If I Qualify for HARP 2 Refinancing?

February 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Harp 2 Refinancing QualificationsThere are new guidelines being released to qualify for HARP 2.
YES.  And more people will qualify for HARP program than ever before.
YES. The question remains…  “Will I qualify HARP 2?”
Here is how you can begin to know….


Step 1:
Who Owns My Loan?

You need to know if your loan is owned by either Fannie Mae (FNMA) or Freddie Mac (FHLMC).
It is not something you will know off the top of your head.  You must check the websites below AND call your lender to ask, “Who OWNS my loan?”  You are trying to find out who the investor is.  This is a different party in many cases from the company that collects your payments (the servicer).  Enter the information into each of the forms through the links below and also call your current servicer unless you get a “yes, match found” answer.

http://www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup/
https://ww3.freddiemac.com/corporate/

Step 2:
What if Fannie and Freddie Don’t Own My Loan?

If, at some point, you get a YES answer to either of these questions:  “Does Fannie Mae own my loan?”  or “Does Freddie Mac own my loan?”then you can proceed to step 3.

If you are getting a NO answer to the above questions you need to continue to try both links repeatedly (as FNMA and FHLMC both acquire loans) AND you need to call your lender. A NO answer generated from the forms on these links does NOT necessarily indicate that your loan is NOT owned by either of these entities.  Just entering information differently (IE misspelling, typos, abbreviations or missing information) from how it is in the lender’s system can produce a NO answer…

If you get a NO you will still want to consult with an experienced broker who works with many different lenders and can ascertain whether or not there is another program available to you. There ARE other programs available that do not involve either of these entities.  There are also potentially ways that you can improve your own situation to qualify for a refinance (IE paying down the loan, getting a second job, paying off debt, getting a “gift” from family, etc.).  If you get a NO you can also ask your current lender if they participate in the federal Making Home Affordable Program.

A definitive NO here is the end of the road for a HARP refinance for the time being but be sure to keep in touch with those sites and with an experienced lender to determine if something has changed.  If one thing is for sure, things change!  It has happened again and again over the last half decade as these programs have rolled out.

Step 3:
If you discover YES My Loan is Owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac

Your loan IS owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.  Now what?!
You will potentially qualify under one of the following programs:

FNMA: DU REFI PLUS OR REFI PLUS

FHLMC: FREDDIE MAC RELIEF (I or II) OR FREDDIE MAC RELIEF OPEN ACCESS (I or II).

The difference between the “OR” programs above relies on who the servicer of the loan is.  One program is only available to the servicer of the current loan (sometimes through a broker) and the other is available to any lender who offers the loan product.  Some servicers do not exist any longer and some do not offer the specific program a borrower might need or the guidelines needed to qualify.  This is where it can get dicey and an experienced lender is necessary to help you determine where your loan qualifications might fit it.  And NO Lender is omnipotent so NEGU (never ever give up).

The first answer is TALK to an experienced lender, maybe even more than one.  Each bank offers a DIFFERENT VERSION of this product, therefore going to one bank, with one set of guidelines, may not be your solution.  One bank will still only go to 105% of the current home value with your loan balance, while another bank will go to 125% of the current property value.  If you have a second mortgage, that changes what you qualify for, as well.  Again, some banks will go higher on the COMBINED loan to value (meaning the balance now including the second mortgage loan balance versus the current propert value).  I must also add:  there are situations where I refer a client back to their original lender because the guidelines and/or the pricing might be better but I would definitely prefer to talk through the situation with the client FIRST to determine what makes the most sense for their particular situation.  Most borrower wants to talk to their servicer AND a trustworthy and experienced broker.  Sometimes a servicer will have different guidelines for their borrowers with loans already with them versus loans that are owned by a different lender as well.  Try to be sure you have an experienced loan officer with the servicer as well.  Not all loan officers are equal in terms of experience and knowledge and talking to the wrong person can get you the wrong answer as well.

I am seeing pricing and guidelines vary GREATLY from one lender to another.  Just because Fannie or Freddie “release” new guidelines does not mean that any specific lender will offer the program just as they release it.  Lenders have overlays, rules in addition to the guidelines, that will sometimes limit what is available through their bank.

AND, just because your loan is owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac does not mean you qualify otherwise.

You will need to meet some other qualifications:

For example, your loan has to have been originated before 6/1/2009 if it is owned by Freddie Mac.  You can only take advantage of the program one time.  And your overall credit risk profile will still have to qualify through the electronic processing system as well.  It sounds like this system may “relax” sometime in March.

My recommendation is to talk to your lender now and get your HARP 2 refinancing application going.  When (and if) the flood gates do open on HARP 2 program, you want to be ready to go.

Remember, persistence is KEY when it comes to getting refinancing especially under HARP!  As is the EFFORT to keep trying!  AND, when you find a solution, do not wait for something better to come along.  SNATCH IT UP as fast as you can!

Author

Sheila Goulart- Siegel
President and Senior Loan Consultant
Synergy Financial Group
(949) 388-9254 ext. 101
(949) 388-9372 fax
DRE license #:    01247838
NMLS license #:  239691

Filed Under: Sheila Goulart California Mortgage Specialist Tagged With: Fannie Mae Freddie Mac, FHLMC., FNMA, HARP 2, Loan Modification, Mortgage

Mortgage Scams How to Spot and Avoid Home Loan Fraud

December 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

It might not always be easy to spot mortgage scams. However, it can help to know some of the warning signs to look out for. Below are six red flags that might indicate you could be dealing with home loan fraud or mortgage scam:

 

  • A company tries to pressure you to sign over the deed to your home or sign any paperwork that you haven’t had a chance to read, and/or that you don’t fully understand. Never sign any documents without reading them first. Many homeowners think that they are signing documents for a loan modification or for a new loan to pay off the mortgage they are behind on. Later, they discover that they actually transferred ownership of their home to someone who is now trying to evict them. A legitimate housing counselor would never pressure you to sign a document before you had a chance to read and/or understand it.
  • A company/person you don’t know asks you to release personal financial information online or over the phone. You should only give this type of information to companies that you know and trust, like your mortgage lender or an approved HUD counseling agency.
  • A company/person asks for a fee in advance to work with your lender to modify, refinance or reinstate your mortgage. This fee might be called a processing fee or an administrative fee. However, once you pay the fee, you probably will never hear from this person or company again. When you try calling them, you will never get in contact with them and you certainly will not get your phone calls returned. They may pocket your money, keeping the money for themselves, and do little or nothing to help you save your home from foreclosure.
  • A company/person guarantees they can stop a foreclosure or get your loan modified. Nobody can make this guarantee to stop foreclosure or modify your loan. Legitimate, trustworthy HUD-approved counseling agencies will only promise they will try their very best to help you.
  • A company/person advises you to stop paying your mortgage company and pay them instead. Despite what a defrauder will tell you, you should never send a mortgage payment to anyone other than your mortgage lender. The minute you have trouble making your monthly payment, it is in your best interest to contact your mortgage lender.
  • A company claims to offer “government-approved” or “official government” loan modifications. They may be mortgage scam artists posing as legitimate organizations approved by, or affiliated with, the government. The scammer’s company name and website may sound like a real government agency, but the website may end with .com or .net instead of .gov. You may also see terms like “federal,” “HAMP,” “MHA,” “HARP” or other words related to official U.S. government programs. Contact your mortgage lender first. Your lender can tell you whether you qualify for any government programs to prevent foreclosure or modify your current loan. And, remember, you do not have to pay any organization or company to benefit from government backed loan modification programs.

 

Filed Under: Mortgage News Tagged With: Examples of Mortgage Fraud, Foreclosure, Fraud Mortgage, Home Loan Fraud, Home Loan Scams, How to Report Mortgage Fraud, Loan Modification, Mortgage Fraud, Mortgage Scams, Victims of Mortgage Fraud