Creative financing is often part of a house purchase or refinance. When the process is legal and with a trusted mortgage professional, it can be a great opportunity for both the buyer and the seller to close the deal - or for the current homeowner to remain in their home. Unfortunately, the word trusted is often forgotten when someone begins to feel desperate.

This story, coming out of New York State, is one that exemplifies why you should work with someone you know or who was referred by a friend, relative or previous customer.

According to National Mortgage News, a lawsuit has been filed against Save My Home, a group of companies that targeted low-to-middle-income homeowners who were struggling with their mortgage debt and were afraid of foreclosure.

The lawsuit charges that these "loan specialists" would find homeowners on the Internet, through cold calling or print ads. They promised to lower the monthly mortgage payments and asked for payment to renegotiate the debt for the homeowner. Other times, they told the homeowners to stop sending in their mortgage payments and that it was best to cease all communication with the loan holder. When they stopped sending in their payments, they fell further behind, increased their debt, accumulated lender fees and missed payment penalties.

Throughout this entire process, these targeted homeowners had no knowledge that there were HUD-approved housing counselors available to assist them with loan modification services. They were scammed because they believed what they were being told, they didn't investigate and were feeling desperate.

We urge you to learn from this scenario - it's just one more example of "if something sounds too good to be true..." Call a trusted mortgage broker to verify what you are being told.