CBS News recently aired a fascinating piece on robo-signing and how it affected consumers. Robo-signing is where people are hired to sign documents that they never read. In most cases, the people signing aren’t qualified to authorize the decisions outlined in these documents. They are simply hired to sign documents as fast as possible.

How can this affect you?
Banks have been foreclosing on individuals and families at such a fast pace, qualified bankers with the experience to judge the merits of the foreclosure, are unable to keep up with the amount of documents being produced. Additionally, some families find their names on foreclosure lists without being notified by banks or after missing only one payment. Without qualified reviews of each mortgage on a case-by-case basis, a break down in customer service occurs: families aren’t contacted to work out payment arrangements, offers for mortgage modifications aren’t given, and a loss of personal touch we come to expect when making financial decisions.

If you find yourself faced with foreclosure, try talking to your bank first. If they cannot or will not work with you, or you simply find yourself with more bills than you can keep up with, contact us for help!

Yahoo News recently reported a growing bankruptcy trend that we too have noticed. Over the past several months, we have seen increasing numbers of families with financial burdens compared to the past several years. The article states “…After a record 1 million home foreclosures in 2010, this year is likely to be even worse.”

The economy still has many more unstable months before balancing out. During this time, people will still lose jobs while costs continue to increase. Refinancing is an option for those that can qualify. Families have cut costs as far as they can.

While increased bankruptcy filings do tend to mean increased business for us, we still see this as a negative situation. In a perfect world, bankruptcy attorneys like us wouldn’t exist. But, unfortunately sometimes life becomes complicated and situations don’t always favor hard working people.

According to this story in the Huffington Post:

“Bank of America stands out among the biggest mortgage servicers for an exceptionally poor performance under the Obama administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program, according to data recently released by the government.”

The eight largest servicers have offered an alternative mortgage modification to 44.5 percent of homeowners whose HAMP modifications have been canceled, but Bank of America has offered alternate mods to only 24 percent of the 148,129 homeowners whose trial modifications the bank canceled. For homeowners denied trial modifications, 31.3 percent have been offered alternate modifications by the Big Eight. Bank of America has offered alternate mods to just 11 percent of these folks.

“Bank of America seems to be stubbornly refusing to go along with the program,” said Valparaiso University Law School professor Alan White, who first flagged Bank of America’s standout performance in a Public Citizen blog post.

“BofA has also mastered the art of false hopes,” wrote White. “It has converted only 26% of trial modifications to permanent ones, while servicers as a whole have achieved a rate of over 50% (still terrible, but it’s all relative.) Over half of BofA’s trial modifications are more than six months old, despite the fact that they are supposed to convert to permanent or be canceled after three months.”

Whether with Bank of America or another mortgage company, these loan modifications can often turn disastrous for homeowners.  If you are involved with or attempting to receive a loan modification (such as with the HAMP program) and are concerned about the result, please contact Keeling Law Firm immediately for a free consultation.

We have been hearing from many Houstonians lately, people who are involved in loan modifications through their banks or mortgage companies. These folks are trying to do the right thing, working to get back on track to keep their home. Yet they find out –sometimes when it is too late– that the bank or mortgage company has foreclosed on their home, despite the loan modification program.

Often the banks or mortgage companies shuttle the homeowner between departments, or submerge him or her in a bottomless ocean of paperwork. All the while, the homeowner is making payments in the belief that they are saving their home from foreclosure.

Here is just one of many heart-rending stories:

“You receive a phone call telling you that you are getting a modification contract. It arrives with instructions to have it NOTARIZED and return it by a certain date along with paystubs and/or 3 months of bank statements.

You comply. You follow the package tracking to verify delivery on time (Oh, you didn’t, oops they claim it didn’t get there on time so it was cancelled). But yours got there, now you later find that they did start processing and then you find out the date they say they finished verification of your package. They are telling you that the ‘mod’ is YOURS.

Then you just can’t get a copy of the final signed-by-the-bank copy. No word other than them assuring you, so you start making the payments per the contract. You keep trying for the final copy of that document, no luck. The mod is yours, don’t worry they continue to say and get you to pay. Then finally the ‘difference’ in what you paid and the original payments adds up to more than $10K.

Then they tell you. They had canceled the mod contract way back before you even made that first payment. You may get any number of different stories.”

If you are in a loan modification program and have your doubts, then please contact Keeling Law Firm immediately for a free consultation. Please don’t wait until your home has been sold at auction by the court. We hear from so many families who have already lost their homes, even though they were making payments. This is a very sad situation.

In Texas, the foreclosure period is very short, as little as 20 days. Please don’t wait until it is too late. Contact us now.

This is happening around the United States and even here in Houston – debt collection agencies are buying up consumer debt, then filing hundreds of thousands of lawsuits against ordinary citizens.

According to a story in the Houston Chronicle, a 57 year old woman in Minnesota was arrested while driving home from her mother’s late at night and taken to jail. No one would tell her why she was arrested and she spent a terrifying night in jail with criminals.

The following morning –after she was fingerprinted– she was told that she had missed a court hearing over an unpaid debt.

How is this possible, you wonder? There has been no debtors prison in the United States since the 19th century. Yet hard-working  people who have fallen on hard times are actually spending time in jail for unpaid debts.

Debt buyers are purchasing unpaid debts from cell phone companies or credit card companies and the like for pennies on the dollar, then sending out debt collection notices.

Sometimes the debt is several years old, the person has moved, the mail never reaches them. Other times, after receiving possibly hundreds of debt collection notices, people tend to ignore them. Lost among those hundreds of papers may be a notice to appear in court. Miss the court date, and an arrest warrant may soon follow.

Don’t let this happen to you. The federal bankruptcy laws are there to help you. Bankruptcy can give you a fresh start, and protection from the harassment of lawsuits due to unpaid debts. Filing for bankruptcy can often get rid of lawsuits associated with unpaid debts and they can never bother you again for those debts.

Keeling Law Firm has been helping Houstonians with debt relief and debt counseling since 1986. We have helped thousands of Houstonian to get a “Fresh Start” and get on with their lives.

If you find yourself overwhelmed with debt and creditor threats call us now for a free consultation, or fill out the simple contact form. We can help.

So many good people are suffering with credit issues and this brings out the predators.

One of our clients recently received an unsolicited fax promising to raise their credit score by 127 points (why 127?) – plus, the promises included permanently removing bankruptcies, late payments, foreclosure and more from their credit record, and all for only $89. Seems too good to be true, right?

At Keeling Law, as Houston bankruptcy lawyers helping Houstonians with debt relief and bankruptcy for over 25 years, we can say that these sort of solicitations are nonsense. Not only nonsense, but fraudulent nonsense.

If you are having financial difficulties, please be aware that no one can simply erase bad credit for your credit report. Please do not send any money to these unscrupulous companies. We hear so many heartbreaking stories told by victims of the scams, down on their luck people who paid out their last dollar for promised debt relief that never happened.

At Keeling Law, you can setup an appointment for a free consultation to discuss your situation. Our bankruptcy lawyers will advise you whether you simply need debt counseling, a chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy or another form of debt relief.

Please give us a call or fill out the simple form to the right to set up an appointment.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the Federal Trade Commission announced last week they have reached a settlement with several companies to ban these companies from the foreclosure relief business.

These unscrupulous businesses ran advertising that led borrowers to believe they were part of a government loan modification program. Some of these companies even went so far as to create fake Treasury Department websites to grab unsuspecting victims.

Set aside the fact for the moment that it is hard to understand how these people can prey on families who are about to lose their homes. The bottom line here is that, despite advertising to the contrary, there are no “magical” solutions to save your home. You do, however, have many rights under the law.

If you are in trouble with your mortgage and afraid of losing your home, please contact Keeling Law for a free consultation.  Keeling Law has been helping Houston area residents with debt relief and bankruptcy protection for over 20 years.

The Federal Bankruptcy laws are there to help you in a time of financial distress.  Call Keeling Law Firm at 713-579-3030, or fill out the simple form to the right and click submit.

If you have received a notice to foreclose from your bank or mortgage company, please do not delay in contacting us. The mortgage company can put your house up for auction in as few as 20 days.

As a homeowner, you have many rights that can help protect you but you must act promptly. Please don’t ignore any notifications.

Don’t wait and lose your home. For a free consultation and evaluation, call Keeling Law Firm at 713-686-2222, or fill out the simple form to the right and click send.

We are here to help.

This is a sad commentary on just how often people who are on the verge of losing their homes becomes victims a second time.

A recently released Federal Trade Commission report details the dramatic increase in “mortgage rescue” scams.

According to an article from CNN – “the sudden leap in consumer complaints is in part attributable to hundreds of “rescue” companies that launched last year after the Obama administration created a government-subsidized loan modification program.

Logistical problems have plagued the administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program, which has produced only 116,000 permanent mortgage modifications. In turn, many homeowners have turned to fly-by-night companies for help, analysts say.

“Fundamentally they’re a product of a broken system,” said Ira Rheingold, executive director of the National Association of Consumer Advocates. “As long as people are desperate to save their homes, and don’t have a good alternative, these guys are going to find a way to cheat them.”

Although some businesses offer legitimate loan modification services, the FTC has proposed a new rule that would prohibit companies from charging consumers up-front fees, a move that will probably “drive a lot of these scammers out of this business,” Vladeck said. The agency, which can bring civil but not criminal court cases, has identified about 500 companies that currently charge advance fees.

Through its “Operation Loan Lies,” the agency has sued about 30 companies accused of operating bogus loan modification or foreclosure rescue businesses.

Ultimately, Vladeck hopes these cases will encourage the Justice Department to pursue criminal charges against mortgage schemers.”

Keeling Law has helped thousands of  Houstonians since 1985 with their debt problems. We are qualified legal professionals who know the law and how to make it work for you. There are no shortcuts or “miracle cures” for your financial problems. However, there are many legal remedies that can often save your home and resolve your debts so you can get a “financial fresh-start.”  Give us a call for a free consultation.

A sad part of the current economic situation is the rise in the number of scam artists preying on those who are in serious financial trouble and about to lose their homes.

Victims of the scammers pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars upfront for the assistance they desperately need but ultimately never receive. The scammers promise the moon but deliver little or nothing. They will claim they can fix your financial problems and “avoid bankruptcy”. The Federal bankruptcy laws are there to help you. Depending upon your exact circumstances, avoiding bankruptcy may be the worst decision you could make.

At Keeling Law Firm, we talk to victims of these scams on a daily basis.

Please be aware that there are no financial “miracle cures” that will stop foreclosure. The law is very specific about what a homeowner can do to stay in his or her home.

Please, before you give away your money to some scam artist, contact Keeling Law Firm for a free consultation. We will analyze your situation and give you correct legal advice on what you should do.

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Ken Keeling is Board Certified, Consumer Houston Bankruptcy Lawyer, Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Keeling Law Firm is a debt relief firm. We help clients file for bankruptcy under the United States Bankruptcy Code.