Irvine, CA – Homeowners state-wide already in dire financial straits have been throwing good money after bad trying to obtain loan modifications; however, at least one firm has been a welcome relief to those scammed by fraudulent modification companies.

The Parman Law Group, a law firm which obtains loan modifications for clients as part of their practice which also includes personal injury and bankruptcy, has also enlisted its legal expertise to get refunds for clients defrauded by unscrupulous loan modification companies.

A self-professed “anti-Loan Modification Company”, The Parman Law Group draws a strict distinction between itself, a law firm, and the companies they usually go after for taking their clients’ money and providing no services. Although once-bitten, clients who have retained The Parman Law Group’s attorneys and staff have no reason to be twice-shy as they often are able to reverse the harm done.

Drawing upon their knowledge of the Department of Real Estate’s policies and State Laws regarding acceptance of advance-fees, the Parman Law Group uses their litigation expertise to get homeowners their money back.

Perhaps even more impressive than the $50,000 in refunds for homeowners the Parman Law Group has obtained in the last two months alone, The Parman Law Group’s clients often are able to obtain the highly-prized modification they sought in the first place (including reduced monthly payments, interest rates and occasionally even principal reduction).

Although most homeowners having financial difficulties wish they could turn back time on the entire economic downturn and housing crisis, The Parman Law Group can at least afford them a fresh start on the loan modification process.

About Parman Law Group
With their attorneys in practice since 1977, the Parman Law Group has a thriving practice which includes loan modifications, bankruptcy filings, and personal injury claims.

Proposed ordinance restricting agents comes after area homeowners were cheated out of money.
By Paul Eakins, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/05/2009 10:32:55 PM PDT
Updated: 07/05/2009 10:48:08 PM PDT

LONG BEACH — To protect homeowners who have financial troubles, the City Council will consider approving an ordinance Tuesday to regulate mortgage modification consultants.
The new ordinance was crafted by City Attorney Bob Shannon after council members Val Lerch and Dee Andrews proposed the law and the council ordered it drafted last month.
“We’ve got families in North Long Beach and in Central Long Beach that (mortgage consultants) tell them give us $2,000 and we’ll help you get out of the mortgage, and then they never see the money again,” Lerch said last week. “We’ve got to make sure that people are going to help them and not take advantage of them.”
The ordinance would:
Make it illegal for mortgage consultants to charge an upfront fee for their services.
Require a written contract.
Give homeowners the right to cancel the contract within seven days.
Increase notification requirements for homeowners about the right of cancellation and the fact that free loan modification services are available from federally approved housing counselors.
Prohibit mortgage consultants from taking a lien on the personal property or real estate of a borrower as a form of payment.
Give homeowners the right to take legal action against the mortgage consultant that includes three times the amount of damages, attorney’s fees and costs of litigation.
Advertisement

According to a report from the City Attorney’s Office, the ordinance wouldn’t apply to “the activities of certain licensed professionals such as a residential mortgage lender or servicer, attorneys, employees of banks, savings and loans, trust companies, credit unions, or a person acting under the express authority or written approval of the Department Housing and Urban Development” or other federal agencies.

I wonder if this site (badbizfinder) is worth trusting. An acquaintance heard about this site and tried to post a positive comment about one of the law firms mentioned. Guess what? The comment was not approved. If this blog site is such an advocacy group, wouldn’t you think that they would allow both sides to be heard? Guess not.

Interesting note, I found two sites that supposedly exposes the individual behind badbizfinder as a bitter woman who is out to bad mouth any loan modification company out there without credibility and fact checking on her part. Her name is Erin Baldwin. I can’t say much on her but check out the following links that shines a “Bad” light on this woman

http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/the-baldwin-consulting-companies-c203162.html

http://erinbaldwin.net/

You make your decisions. I’m not here to judge but from the two items I found, it’s compelling to wonder about what is this woman’s motive of bashing practically any law firm or loan modification company out there.

http://mandelman.ml-implode.com/trusted-loan-mod-firms/

First off, you will have to contact your mortgage company and ask for the loss mitigation department or loan mod department. You are then asked to fill out some forms and fax it over to them. Once that is done. You need to keep calling them to make sure they have received your fax. If not refax again. Be ready to deal with faxing over and over again. For some reason faxes get lost. It then becomes a wait and see time after your forms are submitted. Keep calling to see what step is your modification is at. If you are lucky, you will get a call back with your loan modification offer ie: principal lowered, monthly lowered, and or apr lowered.

For those who don’t have the time or are not great at negotiating, employ a law firm for you.

There are a few out there in Southern California from Lucas Law, Feldman to Parsa.

For me, I’ve been referring Parman Law Group out of Orange County. For some reason you get the sense that this firm really cares about you and wants to succeed in getting your loan modified. For more information check out their site at parmanlawgroup.com

http://mandelman.ml-implode.com/trusted-loan-mod-firms/

If you don’t want to visit the site.. here is are the three firms he currently has listed on his website:

McFarlin and Guerts LLP

Feldman Law Center

Parsa Law Group

Looks like Parman Law Group that I mentioned in one of my posting is about to be listed as a trusted firm. Currently his site has Parman Law Group spotlight coming soon!

Can’t wait to see what he has to say especially since a friend’s cousin used Parman Law Group and he’s currently using the firm also.

I found a great person to follow on twitter about the banking industry and loan modification news. His name is Martin Andelman. He writes for a site called the nichereport.com and ml-implode.com 

I just recently started following Martin’s site and it sure is chock full of information about the mortgage industry. As a regular guy who just wants to understand why we are at in this day of economic disparity, I’m glad I found Martin’s site. If you want to be updated on financial news, follow Mr. Andelman at twitter.com/mandelman

Why do I say this? It’s because of some of the friends and co-workers who have had to go through the process of modifying their home loan.

Some have tried to do it alone and contact their mortgage companies while others had put their trust into loan modification companies.

I was happy to hear that one friend was able to modify his loan with GMAC due to his tenacity and his persistence with GMAC. Believe it or not, he had to refax his information four times. After three months, he was able to slash his monthly mortgage by $1200. Another friend was not so lucky.

He had given up on his mortgage company. Many phone calls to his loan company did not equate to anything as he always got a recording. He went through a loan modification company that took his money upfront and at the end of the process was told his mortgage company would not modify his loan. What a loss? He should of had a free consultation first.

Finally, his cousin told him about her experience with an law firm that helped her modify her loan and get her loan modified with a lower interest rate and lower monthly payment. In particular, Parman Law Group in Irvine, Ca helped her through the process. From their initial consultation the the final phase of her modification, this wonderful law firm kept her informed of what was happening.

My friend who wasn’t successful in getting through his loan company and using a loan mod firm, had just consulted with Parman a few weeks ago and from what he mentioned to me, he may be getting a refund from the loan modification firm along with Parman helping him modify his loan. He says that his attorney is his super hero.

I’ll keep you posted on his outcome.

1. If your house was saved by a firm you hired, here’s your chance to tell the federal government how important it is that such firms remain available to homeowners in need. No one is in favor of scammers that defraud consumers, but the government has been painting all firms with far too broad a brush. They need to crack down on the fraudulent operators and allow the reputable ones to continue to help consumers save their homes from foreclosure.

The banks clearly do not want homeowners to be represented when negotiating for loan modifications. They’d much prefer to negotiate with a homeowner directly or through a nonprofit counselor because those negotiations are likely to come out better for the banks.

But the most important point is that homeowners have a right to be represented by whomever they choose when negotiating with their lender. If they want to call a nonprofit or try to negotiate with their lender or servicer directly… that’s fine. But if they want to hire a firm to help them, well that should be fine too.

2. And if you’re someone who works in or owns a private sector loan modification firm, whether real estate licensed or a law firm, now is the time to talk to your clients whose homes you’ve helped save about sharing their stories with the FTC as well.

The FTC has published two separate requests for comment about practices that could result in new prohibitions in these areas, depending on the comments the FTC receives. The FTC is asking for comment about for-profit services that offer to help borrowers obtain mortgage modifications. Among other things, the FTC is asking whether it should ban these companies from charging an advance fee.

If I had to hazard a guess, I’d have to say that there’ll be plenty of people with something negative to say, whether it’s true or not. People love the chance to complain, and they generally do so a lot more than they praise. So, it’s up to those that believe in protecting a homeowner’s right to hire a private sector firm to represent them in negotiations with lenders and serivcers, to go out of their way to make sure that this point of view is not absent from the comments the FTC receives.

A comment form can be sent to the FTC through July 15, 2009. Include the words Mortgage Assistance Relief Services Rulemaking, Rule No. R911003,” and make sure you DO NOT include any personal information because whatever you submit may be published.

FTC Comment Form: https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-mortgageactsandpractices/

Our good friend Martin Andelman of ML-Implod summed up the information above for us. For more information and blog about various financial institution, visit http://ml-implode.com/