Foreclosure Scams: What You Need to Know

By Doc Schmyz

Home foreclosure is a VERY common problem that people face today. More often than not it starts from one missed payment which the spirals out of control. Before you know it you have missed three or four payments and the lender/ bank wants you to pay everything you owe all at once. Now the home owner panics and is looking for some type of "help". This is the mindset that sets someone up to become a statistic to a scam artist.

This is when the swindlers and crooks find their way into your mailbox or give you a call. Foreclosure scams are as common as the problem itself. Since homeowners believe that they have no choice they fall for these traps and make their situation much worse than it was before. It is not uncommon for these scams to lead to even greater financial problems then the homeowner faced in the first place.

Scam operators also distribute flyers,advertise online, publish advertisements in the local newspaper, and call homes which are included on the foreclosure list. They call themselves mortgage consultants who offer foreclosure services or advertise with "We buy houses" slogans and signs.

Common scams:

Bankruptcy Foreclosure Scam

This scam operates by promising the homeowner that their house will be saved. In return they will either ask for the homeowner to pay their mortgage directly to them, hand over their deed and pay rent, or obtain refinancing. Of course these crooks never do anything for you...they contact NO ONE on your behalf. They keep all the money and file bankruptcy without your knowledge.

Since the homeowner is not aware that bankruptcy has been filed, they fail to participate in the case. The case is dismissed and the house continues onto foreclosure. Apart from loosing money and your home, you will also have a bankruptcy on your record.

Equity skimming

The scam artist poses as a buyer. They then promise the homeowner to pay the mortgage or given them a sum of money once the property has been sold. The operator then convinces the homeowner to sign over the deed and move out. The homeowner can stay but they have to pay rent. If they opt to move out the operator lets a third party rent the property. The operator does not pay the mortgage and lets the mortgage lender foreclose. and of course they skip town and are never seen/heard from again.

If the house has equity, the operator sells the property and pays off the debt. Then the operator keeps the equity that the homeowner could have had if they sold it. In few cases, the scam operator actually finds a buyer or sells the house. - 23212

About the Author:

Doc Schmyz has invested all over the US and Mexico. He built a free website shares Real estate investing information for all over the US. Find real estate information by state

Reduce Foreclosure Risk ? Hire a Structural Engineer

By Mary Smith

Structural engineers can be an invaluable asset to buyers wishing to purchase foreclosed property. Years of neglect may have allowed small maintenance and repair problems to escalate. In some cases these problems may even threaten the entire structure. Buyers need to be fully aware of all the problems a foreclosed property may contain.

Sellers in Florida are required to disclosure any problems not obvious to the buyer, if those problems affect the value of the property. Unfortunately banks don?t live in the property and rarely if ever even visit. So disclosure statement may not be very useful. Because it is important to understand the true condition of the home, many buyers ask for the services of home inspectors and structural engineers.

Structural engineers are experts in understanding the structure of buildings. They understand how the foundation, walls, beams and other structural members work together to form a strong structure. During a structural inspection they will examine each of these members to look for deterioration, or deformation or structural weakness that could affect the building.

What?s the difference between a structural engineer and a professional home inspector? A home inspector is qualified to carefully examine a home and the systems it contains, such as electrical, plumbing, etc. Their job is to describe what is visible. Only a structural engineer is qualified to diagnose a structural problem, and recommend solutions.

A home inspection is recommended for all foreclosure purchases. Most smart home buyers will hire a home inspector before they purchase any home. A professional inspector can uncover issues that could turn into expensive problems over time. Forewarned is forearmed as the saying goes. In this case a professional inspection and a little negotiation will usually solve the problems.

Always inspect any potential purchase carefully. Inspect both the property and structure. Look for defects such as walls that lean, floors that slope, doors and windows that bind, cracks in the foundation or walls or a porch that slopes toward the house. These may be symptoms of deeper problems. You will need the opinion of a structural engineer to understand the scope and severity involved.

The purchase of a foreclosed home should not be a high risk venture. Many of the risks involved can be understood and averted with the help of a professional home inspector and a structural engineer. These experts are highly trained and independent and can offer you the peace of mind you need to purchase a home or to make a safe investment, - 23212

About the Author:

Florida Engineering Solutions offers experienced structural engineers that have worked on a wide variety of projects across the southeastern US. Their design team understands that construction projects are time sensitive and require quick turnaround. FES can provide the structural engineering support and services needed to complete your project on time. Mary Smith is a freelance writer.

An Overview On How To Invest For Retirement

By Elisha B. Hanley

Setting yourself up for a financially secure retirement is a vital part of your working life, so you need to know how to invest for retirement. Make sure you can be confident that you have invested wisely throughout your working years to be able to live comfortably in retirement.

The secret to knowing that you will be financially secure in retirement is vigilance; regularly checking that you have your money invested in the wisest and most productive way. Strategies need to change in line with your stage of life, so you need to keep up to date with what is available to suit your particular needs. A registered financial adviser is the person best equipped to help you continuously assess and tweak your investments.

There are numerous options for retirement investment, and in this short article it is impossible to mention them all. These tips will provide you with some basic information that you can then build on, to find the best financial vehicles to fund your retirement.

Where do you start with investing for your retirement? Good question, but the answer is that it doesn't so much matter where you start, but that you DO actually start. Too many people put off starting to invest for their retirement and lose valuable growth of their money. Voluntary deposits into a retirement fund are the usual place to start, as many employers carry employer-matching programs, 401K and 403B. After this, a Roth IRA is a good plan to set up because they are a tax-free investment opportunity for the growth of your assets.

Many workers also take out whole life insurance, both as a retirement investment strategy and as protection for their dependants. This is particularly important when you have children, so that their lives are disrupted as little as possible if something happened to you, the bread-winner. Later on, if you don't think you need the life insurance, you can cash it in as a valuable source of retirement income.

Because investment strategies are different for a young worker and a worker approaching retirement, you need to seek advice on the most appropriate investments for your age. Older workers may decide to invest with safe or conservative options to protect their capital, because they don't have as many working years to recoup any losses. So, corporate or government bonds, money markets and fixed-income options, may be more suitable. These don't give the same returns on investment but your assets are more protected than with higher-risk options.

Some other types of retirement investments that you can consider are bonds because they represent a stable investment; mutual funds that make investments using their investors' money; stocks which have a proven record of beating inflation; exchange traded funds or ETFs which are often a cheaper option than mutual funds; cash, a safe option although growth can be affected by inflation. - 23212

About the Author:

Are you a beginner to the stock market? You should really take a look at BeforeYouInvest.com. Before You Invest has advice on investing on topics from everything from investing your money online to retirement strategies for tough times.

Forex (Foreign Exchange) - It Is About Using Money To Make Money

By Richard Henry

What is the Currency exchange and how is money linked to the Forex? Well...the Forex involves the trading of an individuals currency to the need currency of the traders, investors, and others who are united togather for money trading all over the world. Currency is the main factor in Forex trading.

The Forex Market can be traded anytime and anyplace, just as long as there is easy access to a laptop or desktop, which is your entryway to enter and trade the Forex maket. The most crucial thing to bear in mind prior to jumping into trading currencies, is it is smart to trade with paper money Or fake money utilizing Brokers demo accounts where their trading station can be downloaded, and rehearse in real time previous to trading for real with your hard earned cash.

The Forex speedily became acknowledged as an uncomplicated way to invest for the investor. For instance, a woman from the Philippines buys online products with Ebay online shopping. She has to shell out the product charge of $42.00 USD with her credit card, but she resides in the Philippines, so her account is based on pesos. The trading company which is involved in the transactions, have to convert the pesos to dollars so that Ebay can credit the $42.00 payment, where 1 usd=45.32 pesos, hence $ 42.00 usd = 1903.44 pesos, thats the Philippine quantity debited to her credit card account.

Therefore, the Forex involves all the trading of investors, small traders, importers and exporters and more going on every day all over the globe. The Forex is crucial in buying and selling amongst dissimilar peoples, banks, corporations etc. around the world.

Money Management is one of the most critical things to understand before getting caught up in currency trading. It will instruct you to stay away from pricey mistakes that new traders continuously make resulting in losing their whole investment in the business of forex trading.

PSYCHOLOGY: Motivated traders are psychologically ready for the circumstances of money trading. Entering into this business without self motivation and positive outcome in this business WILL NOT occur. Not understanding all the terminology and must dos and donts in this field, will lead to catastrophe and loss of funds.

Currency is always traded in pairs - the US dollar to Japanese yen, the English pound to Euro etc. Each deal involves selling one currency and buying another. Currency is money and money is currency without which the Forex could not function. Forex trading is strongly linked with the analyzing of the charts and the basic indicators...where to get in and where to exit in a position. Traders deal with the risks by devoting time to learning the techniques of money management to acquire knowledge and manage the risk factors with good money management.

Money is the foremost factor and the only purpose for which the Forex exist. Do you think there would be a Forex if there where no money to trade? Forex Money trades are completed 24/7 while the stock market is a business hours ONLY exchange. Changes of time varies in different countries and trading is convenient and easy with the forex.

Ever since its starting in the 70s, the foreign exchange has turned into a gigantic international market, having transactions approximating US$ 3 trillion daily. As the growth of technology emerged, so did the speeding up of the capital movements with the market embracing the continents of Europe, America, Asia etc. and even crossing different time zones.

Lots of people have considered trading in the Forex as more advantageous compared to other trading markets. One of the reasons is the 24-hour trading period that it has to offer. The round the clock operation means each time circumstances that have an effect on exchange rates appear, the traders can effortlessly react instantaneously. They dont need to put off until the market opens the subsequent day.

An extra advantage of this is the high liquidity. High trade volume insures that the prices are in a steady status where the Forex traders can open or close positions at fair market prices. On the other hand, the stock market traders must deal with much larger price shifts. Moreover, the Forex supplies the trader with possible benefits in spite of of whether the market is rising or falling.

People purchase or sell currencies with an eye as to how they predict the cost of one currency will vary against another, as being shown in the specified exchange rate.

As new investors became more knowledgeable of the said advantages these days, the Forex has developed in popularity, which is fueled in part by the very convenient transacting options using the internet. Nowadays, there are just so many options that are to be had for online trading, one of these is the so-called offshore Forex.

It is described as something that is completed offshore. It is essentially a movement that is carried outside an individuals locale where that individual resides or is a citizen. That is the attractiveness of the Forex which makes this achievable. The offshore Forex is purely an option that a trader can pick. Its foremost appeal to aspirant traders is that its tax-free and it is held concealed and confidential due to the bank secrecy laws. The most important disadvantage, though, is the possibility of fraud.

Swindle with offshore Forex has its roots in the lacking of regulations because the offshore brokers are mainly subject to rules and regulations inside the country where they are located. Due to this, its quite challenging if not impossible to indict people that are responsible and also to get back the investments. Scams are part of an appalling reality in offshore trading. As a matter of fact, there are some online forums about this subject over the internet where a few traders even recount about how they fell victims of deception and also how they lost their savings.

Being a trader in offshore Forex requires proficiency and plenty of information. Having the proper know-hows of the field can definitely help any person to excel in offshore Forex - 23212

About the Author:

Submitted by Richard Henry creator of this article. To learn more about subjects like Forex an Currency Trading goto our web site at Currency exchange - Use money To Make money or Forex - Use Cash To Make Cash NOTE article shown above may be circulated freely on web sites, so long as ALL article content and creator information remain UNCHANGED

Isaac Toussie Looks At Real Estate in Florida

By Isaac R. Thompson

The current economic problems have visited Connecticut as well, but there is no condition of oversupply in the state; inventory levels have been consistent, probably due to Connecticut housing not being subjected to the amount of land speculation that other places have gone through, such as Florida and Nevada. While Connecticut maintains generally pro-business policies, there should be no danger of an exodus of commercial tenants, either. It has also definitely helped that media attention has been zeroed in on other states, given the panic-selling that's ensued elsewhere (which, again, has not gripped the Connecticut real estate market).

Connecticut has the most upscale estates in the country second only to California, with over three percent priced over a million dollars by the turn of this century. Most such residences are situated in the northeastern part of the state, where median values have been assessed in the multiple millions, Isaac Toussie comments. The state's southwest lies within the greater metropolitan area of New York City. In fact, three of Connecticut's eight counties form the Tri-State Region with New York and New Jersey. Despite the economic doldrums across the rest of the nation, Connecticut real estate has not experienced that much of an upheaval. While credit is tightened, inventory has been steady.

Statewide inventory of condominiums in Connecticut have been at consistent levels despite the economic downturn of late, and this is a good sign which bodes well for the real estate market there as a whole. Thanks to government action that's maintained access to credit, there is actually some good news for those savvy enough to "connect the dots."

Mortgage interest rates have fallen substantially and there is a tax credit stimulus package for first-time home-buyers with $7,500.00 available. Finally, people have got to live somewhere, so any decline in the condominium market can only be temporary. This is a market with a lot of upside Isaac Toussie comments.

The ideas in this article have been presented strictly for informational and human interest purposes only, not for advisory purposes, and should not be depended on in any way by any person or institution. The reader should not rely on the veracity of any of the content provided herein. The reader is urged to seek a variety of professionals when making business or any other significant decision, including accountants, lawyers, investment advisors, insurance companies and the like. Again, this article has been posted merely for human interest and informational purposes, not for advisory purposes. - 23212

About the Author:

This article was submitted by Isaac Toussie to provide some helpful information on real estate. Keep an eye out for more Isaac Toussie articles to come!