Vultures in Sheep's Clothing

This is usually how it starts:

As soon as news of your foreclosure is made public, the flood of letters and phone calls begin, and the vultures are on the hunt. Some of them are less polished with their approach: you may receive a sloppy letter offering to help out by buying your home. Others may call you on the phone (ignoring the “Do Not Call List” rules and regulations) or even knock on the door and offer their services. These are the amateurs – probably fresh out of a beginning real estate investor class. They can be safely disregarded.

The dangerous ones are the Vultures in Sheep’s Clothing.

These are the slick, polished “professionals” who offer to assist you. They will hand you a savvy business card, listen intently and console you over a cup of coffee or glass of water at your kitchen table, all the while assuring you that they’ll stop your foreclosure regardless of your situation. Heck, they’ll even promise to let you stay in your home! All you have to do is sign on the dotted line...

Does that sound familiar? Unfortunately, this promise, in some instances, is too good to be true. Don’t ignore your inner sense of protection – if it sounds too good to be true, it could be a scam designed to steal your equity.

While some of the solutions presented are valid options in certain instances, some investors have no intention of letting you stay in the property – at least, not for very long. Read the contracts they present – they are heavily weighed in their favor, and the slightest infraction on your part will let them evict you and walk away with your property and your equity (especially in landlord-friendly states!).

Again, read any contracts presented to you. An upstanding investor should not have a problem allowing you take a day or two to review the documentation with a professional. If they are pushing you to sign right now, it could be a scam.