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Help Home Owners Avoid Foreclosure Rescue Scams
 Home builders and home builders associations can provide a valuable community service and build goodwill by sharing new government resources aimed at helping troubled home owners avoid being taken in by scammers who are looking to make a quick buck.
With the economy in recession and the national unemployment rate reaching 9.5% in June, so-called “foreclosure rescue companies” have been emerging to prey on people who are having trouble paying their mortgages, promising to help stop a foreclosure on their home.
In response to this growing problem, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, has produced resources in English and Spanish to help home owners learn to recognize scammers and to let them know where they can obtain free help.
Home owners can go to the FTC’s “Money Matters” Web site www.ftc.gov/YourHome (en Español: www.ftc.gov/SuCasa) to:
- Learn about foreclosure scams, debt, credit cards and other financial management advice
- View the new FTC foreclosure video “Real People, Real Stories,” and link to or embed it on Web sites
- Download the FTC’s flyer about foreclosure rescue scams, "A Note to Homeowners," in English or Spanish
Free copies of the flyer, and any of the FTC's consumer education materials, can be ordered at www.ftc.gov/bulkorder.
Home owners can find out where to get free foreclosure help at www.hopenow.com or by calling 888-995-HOPE (4673).
NAHB provides consumers with information on building, buying and financing a home online at www.nahb.org/forconsumers.
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