Home ownership is down to its lowest level in five years, and the number of potential foreclosures could return home ownership levels to numbers not seen since the 1960′s.  Amid the current real estate storm, homeowners in trouble are becoming easy targets for mortgage relief scammers and increasing their financial difficulties.

Chief among mortgage relief fraud scams are those that seek up-front payments for relief assistance.  These payments are illegal under the Credit Services Protection Act.  Typically, a scammer promises to help a homeowner modify his or her mortgage by working with the homeowner’s mortgage holder in exchange for a fee up front. The scammer pockets the fee and the homeowner gets no mortgage relief.  Other more insidious scams entice the homeowner to relinquish the title to the home without discharging the mortgage, leaving the homeowner without the asset but with full responsibility for the payments.

Here are a few tips Planet Antares Complaints provides to help you avoid mortgage relief scams:

Do not pay any up-front fees to any person or agency for assistance with mortgage relief.  The payment of up-front fees for these services is a violation of state and federal law, but that doesn’t stop scammers from trying. If you need assistance with your mortgage payments, or believe you qualify for mortgage relief, contact your mortgagor directly.

Keep in mind that banks work slowly on mortgage relief requests due to the number of people who are seeking assistance. Scammers take advantage of this by promising quick relief.  You may also find assistance through a non-profit debt relief firm, but a legitimate mortgage relief process can take months.

Do not agree to make your mortgage payments through a third party. Make your payments directly to your mortgagor or to its servicing company only.  Scammers will promise to make your payments for you, and then often disappear with your cash.

Your mortgage and your deed are two different documents. The deed indicates you own a property; the mortgage is a loan agreement from a lender. Do not sign the deed to your home over to a third party to avoid foreclosure. Signing over a deed does not discharge a mortgage; it simply reassigns ownership rights to the property to someone else.

If you’re considering working with a third party to get mortgage relief, planet antares scam tips advises to check with your state’s attorney general to see if that office has received any complaints about the agency’s mortgage relief services. If the agency you’re working with claims that it’s a non-profit company, you can also verify an organization’s non-profit status. Ask the agency for a copy of its IRS determination letter, which will be addressed specifically to the agency, and will contain the agency’s Federal Employer Identification Number. If the agency can’t provide one or balks at the request, seek assistance elsewhere.