June 3rd, 2009 by Reed Allmand 
According to an article in the Keller Citizen, a Harris County district judge has frozen the assets of an alleged foreclosure scam company after a local couple accused them of taking $1500 in a foreclosure scam.
The article said:
One complaint was by a young couple who found themselves in financial straits after buying a house in the Westfork at Heritage subdivision in far north Fort Worth a year and a half ago. The house has a $280,000 tax value.
In early January the couple accepted a telemarketer’s offer to have Excel renegotiate their home loan for a $1,500 fee, according to their complaint. By mid-March, the company had not returned numerous follow-up phone calls and e-mails, the couple said.
According to the homeowners, Excel falsely claimed to be “legal experts” and “professional mediators” who could work with the mortgage lender to help them avoid foreclosure. But the company had no legitimate resources or plan to offer foreclosure help to homeowners and did not do any of the things it claimed it would do. So many homeowners are being bilked out of thousands of dollars by “companies” such as this. Here are a few tips to avoid problems:
• Before accepting the “help” of foreclosure rescue companies, check to see if they are a HUD approved agency by calling 1-800-569-4287 or visiting www.hud.gov/foreclosure/index.cfm.
• Avoid the company if they “guarantee” that they can stop foreclosure. Only bankruptcy is guaranteed to stop foreclosure.
• Avoid the company if they try to push you into a “lease-back” agreement, where you basically become a tenant and they become the owner of your property.
• Avoid the company if they ask for upfront fees, cash or cash instruments such as a wire transfer or money order.
• Avoid the company if they attempt to pressure you into signing paperwork you haven’t read.
Remember, only bankruptcy is guaranteed to stop foreclosure and other creditor actions. To find out more about bankruptcy contact a Dallas-Fort Worth bankruptcy attorney today.
About Reed Allmand
Allmand's vision is rooted in his own financially precarious childhood in Abilene "My father always had difficulty holding a job and supporting our family, so after my parents divorced when I was 12, my sister and I got jobs to help make ends meet," he recalls. "I remember what it felt like as a child to worry that our car would be repossessed or home foreclosed on."
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