SAN BERNADINO (NNPA) Scammers looking to cash in on the misery of desperate homeowners need look no further than the Inland Empire where foreclosures in San Bernardino County jumped an astonishing 187 percent in the second quarter. Riverside County leaped 207 percent. The two counties were among the hardest hit in California, according to a report released Monday by RealtyTrac. Foreclosures in southern California rose 186 percent as 104,575 homes in the state went into some form of foreclosure in the first half of 2007.

As foreclosures skyrocket in the region, the number of companies offering help is increasing as well. The FBI has joined with the Better Business Bureau, assorted States Attorneys and local law enforcement in warning consumers about �bogus� foreclosure recovery operations.

According to data complied by the FBI the targets are often Black and Latino homeowners in financial trouble who are looking for ways to save their homes from foreclosure. Many so called rescuere are claiming to be �faith-based� negotiating terms the homeowner could fairly easily obtain on their own, while others are simply exploiting vulnerable homeowners.

The FBI says perpetrators convince homeowners that they can save their homes from foreclosure through deed transfers and the payment of up-front fees. This foreclosure rescue often involves a manipulated deed process that results in the preparation of forged deeds.

The FBI says in extreme instances, many perpetrators may sell the home or secure a second loan without the homeowners knowledge, stripping the property's equity for personal enrichment.

�They told us they wanted to help minorities victimized by predatory mortgage lenders keep their homes guaranteed our money back. Gwen and James Wade were sure their prayers had been answered when two soft spoken, well dressed men from a foreclosure rescue operation knocked on their door in April.

The Wades were asked to sign documents sharing their property title. They said, add a rescuer to your title, that ll give you time to apply for a new loan and repair your credit. They asked us not to talk to a lawyer or the lender. They even gave us a list of references...They called themselves God fearing Christians. We were desperate so we went for it, said Gwen Wade, a 33 year old Moreno Valley mother of two.

When the Wades began getting notices that their property was going to be put up for auction they were shocked.

The couple claim they contacted two references before signing the documents. The references checked out, said James Wade a heavy equipment operator. They claimed they wanted to help us out of foreclosure, but we lost the first house we bought instead.

What became clear, the Wades were now on the hook not only for their original loan of $190,000 but also for about $130,000 in new debt borrowed against their property without their knowledge.

�Rescuers are preaching exactly what a stressed and desperate homeowner wants to hear: �Fix foreclosure free! Fresh start! You don�t have to lose you house. You have options says Steve Vyus, a consumer advocate who collects mortgage fraud data for law enforcement.

Vyus says scams appear to come in three varieties: �Phantom Help�, where the rescuer charges outrageous fees to make phone calls to a lender. In most cases the calls are never made; Bail Out, where the homeowner surrenders title to the house believing that they can pay the rescuer rent, and buy it back after new financing is secured; Bait and Switch, where the homeowner does not realize he or she is giving up the title to their house in exchange for a rescue.

California actually has some of the nations strictest regulations, but advocates say foreclosures are gaining in popularity in the Inland Empire since many of the properties being foreclosed have balances far below their value.

Moreno Valley real estate consultant Andrew Freeman says many struggling borrowers are now reluctant to seek help. These homeowners are desperate, furious and ashamed. They figured if these guys were referred by a member of the church what they were pushing had to be as good as gold.

Meanwhile with a class action suit filed by the NAACP against a dozen major lenders two weeks ago combined with mounting foreclosures, public outcry, a tumbling stock market and growing congressional pressure mortgage companies are knocking on doors, sending letters and making phone calls with a simple message for struggling homeowners: Theyd rather modify your loan than foreclose.

Finance giant Freddie Mac, and major lending institutions Washington Mutual and Countrywide Financial Corp. are fanning out in Moreno Valley and other Inland neighborhoods.

What we're ultimately trying to do is to make sure that as many customers as possible can stay in their homes, says David Schneider, president of Washington Mutual's home loan group. Schneider says loan representatives are spending unlimited time on the phone and meeting face-to-face with troubled borrowers, sifting through their bills to compute a workable monthly payment. Schneider said he expects 10,000 to 15,000 subprime customers to take advantage of the program.

But reestablishing the trust of homeowners like the Wades is tricky at best. On there block, the Wades point to at least 2 other homes facing foreclosure. Most of the owners were duped into signing subprime loans. The scammers are going to have a field day.

Critics say lenders rush to help struggling borrowers is too little too late. �If people had known what these lenders were doing, red flags would have been raised; but by the time people knew what was going on, it was to late,�� said Thomas Lawler, the former chief economist at Fannie Mae who now runs his own consulting business.

Experts recommend that homeowners facing foreclosure screen recovery offers carefully and seek out accredited financial counselors, using lists such as those kept by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development at Homes and Communities - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The Michigan Citizen

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