Equity Stripping

Another Common Rescue Scheme

Photo: The Blog that Ate Miami

 Equity stripping or equity skimming is a variation on lease-buyback and is one of the most common types of foreclosure rescue schemes.  In it, the perpetrator assumes ownership of the house while allowing the former owner to continue living there, provided that he or she pays rent to the perpetrator, who is the new owner. The perpetrator often claims this ownership is temporary, and the victim will later reassume ownership of the home once the terms of the loan are renegotiated. But after taking over the deed to the house, the perpetrator cashes out all the equity in the home. The perpetrator also collects money from the victim by charging rent to the victim for living in the house while not owning it.

The final result is always the same: eviction from the house, with zero equity paired with greater financial loss to the victim. The perpetrator, who then has ownership of the home, will either sell the property or allow it to go into foreclosure.

Land Trusts
as Mortgage Rescue Schemes

Meetings of the Sovereign People’s Court
for the United States of America were
held in this back room of a printing
business until the FBI raided it.
Photo by Jeff German

There are groups around the country (and here in Florida), that are selling homeowners a scheme designed to “save” their houses from foreclosure.  It revolves around using what they describe as a “Land Patent.”  They use language from ancient court cases such as “the Land Patent is the only form of perfect title to land available in the United States...”   Their ultimate claim is that land, under a Land Patent “cannot be taken for debt or taxes.”  Sounds great, doesn’t it?

Read more: Schemes: Land Trusts

  Mass Joinder Lawsuits
as Foreclosure Rescue Schemes

California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, shown in May.
Credit: Los Angeles Times / Mel Melcon

California authorities have sued a group of lawyers and their associates, accusing them of fraudulently taking millions of dollars from thousands of homeowners by deceiving them into thinking they would receive relief on their troubled home loans.

Read more: Schemes: Mass Joinder Lawsuits

The Consulting Service Scheme

Photo: www.indonesiamedia.com

A firm may offer to act as an agent to renegotiate the terms of a loan with the lender, in return for a fee.  The Florida Mortgage Rescue Law forbids such firms from accepting a fee up front, so that is the first sign that you are working with someone dishonest.

Read more: Schemes: Consulting Service Scheme

"Sovereign Citizen" Ploy
doesn't save Homes from Foreclosure

Photo: Jacob-Franz: Dyck

By Jodie Tillman, Alexandra Zayas and John Martin
St. Petersburg Times Staff Writers
Sunday, August 21, 2011

He considers himself a "sovereign citizen," above the laws of government and, apparently, the rules of grammar. He punctuates his name Jacob-Franz: Dyck.

Read more: Schemes: Sovereign Citizen