Brought to you by Cherrel Kirkland, GRI and the California Association of Realtors®

If you are at risk of or in foreclosure, you should be on the lookout for foreclosure scams. Here are some of the red flags to watch out for:

BEWARE: Rescue Scams

• Asks for money upfront before providing any service

• Instructs you not to contact your lender, lawyer, housing counselor, family, friends, or others

• Asks for mortgage payments to be made directly to his or her company or a bank account set up by that person, rather than your lender.

• Requires payment only in the form of cash, cashier’s check, or wire transfer

• Promises to stop the foreclosure process, no matter the circumstances

• Advises you to transfer your property deed or title to his or her company

• Offers to fill out paperwork for you

• Asks for something to be done immediately and without delay. This includes pressuring you into signing paperwork that you have not had the chance to read thoroughly or do not fully understand

• Encourages you to lease your house and buy it back over time

• Offers to buy your house for a fixed price that is not set by the housing market at the time of sale

• Asks for you to give a power of attorney

• Asks for signatures on a grant deed or deed of trust

• Asks for signatures on a document that has lines left blank

• Fails to provide copies of signed documents

• Refuses or fails to put an oral promise in writing

Legitimate Resources

If you are at risk of foreclosure or have already received a foreclosure notice, you should contact your lender immediately.

Homeowners also may seek the advice of a reputable housing, financial or credit counselor, attorney, or other qualified professional.

Homeowners may visit the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Web site to view its Guide to Avoiding Foreclosure and its list of California HUD-approved housing counseling agencies. In addition, the non-profit Homeownership Preservation Foundation has a 24/7 toll-free Homeowner’s HOPE Hotline at (999) 995-HOPE.

There are currently 118 foreclosure properties available in the Redding market. These homes range from small fixer homes from $50K to custom homes on acreage for over $700K. Most of these homes are priced competitively in the Redding market. Some are particularly good values. It seems the banks are realizing they don’t want to hang on to their inventory and that they must price under market to sell quickly.

The down side is that regular sellers are being pressured to lower their prices to compete. If you are interested in a weekly list of foreclosure properties within Redding sent to your email address, please let me know. It ‘s a great time to be watching the Redding market for a foreclosure property you might like to invest in.