Foreclosure Fraud and Scams

This has been a hot topic not only in Rhode Island but nationwide. Currently, a colleague and I are handling several cases where, essentially, the homeowner lost their house to scams. The common thread amoung the victims; all were experiencing financial difficulty and in risk of losing their home to foreclosure.

Often times these scams involve unscrupulous mortgage brokers or lenders who arrange for the sale of the home to a third party, a straw man if you will, while the homeowner is allowed to continue living in the home. Then, at the closing, some if not all of the cash that would normally be given to the seller is held in an "escrow" account by the party arranging the deal...the unscrupulous broker or lender. The homeowner is typically told that this "escrowed" money will be used to pay the mortgage and the homeowner will eventually be able to repurchase their home.

However, several things are happening. 1) The homeowner normally never sees a dime of the "escrowed" money; 2) The straw man buyer who's name is on the mortgage stops paying; 3) The home is foreclosed upon; 3) The homeowner pays the mortgage broker or lender arranging the deal outgragous fees as well as all closing costs; 4) The home is typically sold for far less than its true worth since the homeowner has no idea that he is really selling his home.

Rhode Island, as well as many other states around the country, have recently passed laws to help protect homeowners from such scams by instituting strict regulations against such practices.

If you or someone you know has been the unfortunate victim of this type of scam or any other, please post your questions or contact us at RanoneLaw.

Welcome!

Welcome everyone to Rhode Island's newest legal blog. My name is Joe Ranone and I am a practicing attorney in Rhode Island concentrating primarily in civil litigation including personal injury and workers' compensation matters. I have established this blog to work in conjuction with my website, Ranonelaw.com, to give people a better understanding of the laws and procedures that affect their case.

Attorneys are typically very busy people and we don't always take the time to explain things to our clients as well as we should. This usually leaves the client axious and nervous. I offer my time and knowledge those who would like to learn more, have questions and sure, maybe gather a few new clients. So with that, this blog is officially open for business!