Due to the economic downturn and many people being retrenched, many South African’s are facing the horrible fact that they may lose their houses to foreclosure. Foreclosure occurs when a person has taken out a bond in order to finance the purchase of their homes and can no longer afford to pay back the monthly instalments.
Many people do not fight for their homes, even if they have paid off more than half of their home loan, however there are those who are willing to fight for their homes and therefore they require a good defence attorney to help them through the ordeal. There are however numerous important things that you will need to be conscious of. Firstly, ensure that they lawyer that you hire has a good reputation. It has been found that a number of attorneys have been committing fraud by means of “double dipping”. This means that they are actually employed by the banks that want to foreclose your home and therefore there is a serious conflict of interest.
If you are in the unfortunate situation and you find yourself asking “when do you need a foreclosure attorney?” you need to understand that foreclosure defence is not a situation that must be taken lightly. The difference between getting a good lawyer and a bad one can mean the difference between keeping and losing your home. It is therefore imperative that you put in some hard work yourself in not only finding a good lawyer, but understanding the laws and making yourself as knowledgeable about the entire process.
This will also help you with your screening of lawyers as you will hopefully be able to suss out the fraudsters and the ill informed ones. It is also a good idea when looking for a lawyer to request past instances and previous client references before you decide on one. You can also do a private background check on the lawyer to make sure that they do not actually work for the banks.
There are also a number of other scams that some foreclosure attorneys have become involved in. There have been a number of cases where fraudsters offer to help you and then ask for a large fee upfront. Once they have your money they become untraceable and this will leave you in a worse off situation than you were previously. One way to ensure that you are dealing with a legitimate organisation is to see if they are government affiliated or not. If they are not affiliated to the government then it is essential that you check out their credentials and ensure that you are protecting yourself against scams.
You have worked really hard to get your house and make it a home for you and it is essential that you do not give it up without a fight. Another scam that has made the news recently is that people are losing their homes to people who actually have no claim to the loan that you have. What they do is that they claim to own your loan and as a result they claim the right to take back your property. This is why it is essential that you have an attorney that not only knows the laws and is competent, but keeps your best interests at heart. With more and more evidence surfacing of lenders not actually possessing the proper documentation to foreclose your home, it has been essential that you have an attorney that will be able to spot the real documentation from the fake. Do not give up your home without a fight, especially if you do not think that everything that you are hearing is correct.
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