Just about everywhere you look today you can see billboards, commercials and even road side signs that advertise offers from people who say they can help you to prevent your home from being foreclosed. And, because of the glut of foreclosures that are ravaging our country, this is a rapidly growing new industry. Like with many new industries, you will probably find a lot of scam artists and frauds sprinkled amongst the legitimate companies.

Many scam artists now call themselves "Foreclosure Consultants" and their target market is anyone who might be behind on their mortgage payments. Since the 2008 real estate melt down it's now estimated that about ten percent of mortgage holders are unfortunately either already in this category or will soon find themselves in it.

If you're newly unemployed, elderly, have had your mortgage payments spike up recently, or if you are now entering into foreclosure, you will be especially susceptible to fraudulent marketers. You are in the specific groups that they are going after.

Here are some of the illegal practices to watch out for that many fraudulent foreclosure consultants practice:

(1) They collect advance fees for their services after a Notice of Default has been recorded against your property.

(2) They don't have you sign an agreement that specifies specifically what services they will perform, how much they will charge, and when they will perform these services.

(3) They do have you sign a hummingbird loans tribal loans company in las vegas modification agreement before it has been submitted to the Department of Real Estate for review.

(4) They won't allow you the right to cancel your contract within a specified time. This can vary from state to state. In California, for example, you have the right to cancel a contract until midnight of the third business day after you have signed and dated it.

(5) They want to either receive, demand, collect, charge, or claim any compensation before they have performed each and every service you contracted them to perform.

(6) They charge fees or interest in excess of 10% per year of the amount of any hummingbird loans native tribal installment loans they might offer you.

(7) They give you a contract that does not state, in 14-point boldface type, when they can collect fees. This contract should also stipulate in bold that they can't ask you sign any deed, deed of trust, or lien.

If you feel you have been victimized by an unscrupulous loan modification service or a foreclosure consultant - or anyone who has been acting on your behalf to fix your problems by modifying your mortgage - you should consider consulting with an attorney who specializes in this area.

Click here for more information about hummingbird loans bad credit loan lenders not brokers modifications. Or go to http://www.MartinWorldwide.net/index.php

Wendy Moyer is a professional writer.