Organic Farmers MarketOrganic Foods, Green Products, Books & Farming Information

California Real Estate Scams Seen by Lawyers, Loan Modification Rip Offs Found by Attorneys and Foreclosure Consultant Frauds Uncovered by Ca Lawyers

Today, it is estimated that one in ten homeowners is either in foreclosure or behind in their payments. As the economic crisis becomes more severe and the recession feeds upon itself, people have become more and more desperate to find some way to hold onto their houses. With such conditions, the average member of the public is ripe for a scam and the and those who try to dupe you or use trickery know this. It is no surprise, therefore that the number of foreclosure type scams are on the rise.

 

If you’ve been the victim anywhere in Southern California of real estate fraud or the target of an unscrupulous loan modification service, foreclosure consultant or someone acting on your behalf to modify your mortgage or cure your problems who is in violation of the strict regulations in California, call the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson at any of the numbers on our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com .

 

If you are a licensed real estate broker or agent and have either been wrongly accused of being in violation of the laws and regulations governing loan modification services and foreclosure consultants, or acted as such without being aware of these strict regulations and need legal defense, we urge you to call us at any of the numbers which you can find on our website.

 

Those who are most likely to be targeted by persons attempting to perpetrate a fraud are the elderly, anyone entering foreclosure, people who have recently lost their jobs, families who have lost a loved one, people who have limited knowledge of English, people with limited resources, and homeowners whose payment amounts have recently been raised.

 

The moment you enter foreclosure, expect to be inundated with offers of help from many individuals with generic type sounding names, and some claiming even to have references from churches near you. These are, in most cases, some of the people you should stay away from at all cost.

 

The person who will approach you in this type of scam is more often than not, well-dressed, well groomed, and seems personable, kind, and trustworthy. Some utilize social skills to put you at ease such as their representation to be of the same religion as you, or even the same church, to have been in the military if they think that will put you at ease or feel more trusting of them, and others will claim to be working for non-profit organizations, or branches of the government.

 

These are some of the most common scams and what you can do to avoid being a victim.

 

1) The Disappearing Foreclosure Consultant – With a helpful sounding name, and armed with references and a kind voice, the person who contacts you promises to help you stave off foreclosure with just an up-front fee for their time. The only problem is, as soon as the money clears their bank, you never see or hear from them again. The soon-to-be phantom performs little or no service, takes your money and you are left with your original problems and less time to try to save your home from foreclosure.

 

2) Loan Modification Helpers – Unlike Santa’s Helpers, in this scam you pay a fee up front to the “loan modification expert” to negotiate directly with your bank, only here you don’t get a present from Santa. If the expert really gains your trust, you also make your mortgage payments directly to the expert rather than to the mortgage company. Both the up front fee and the mortgage payments go directly into the pocket of the loan modification helper with the white beard and the kind voice and by the time you receive notice that your house is in foreclosure, this elf has disappeared and is back at the North Pole.

 

3) Just Sign Here Scams – As you face the prospect of foreclosure, one offer of help seems far better than all the others because it allows you to stay in your home as they save it from foreclosure. Unfortunately, in the papers you sign without having a lawyer look at them, you agree, knowingly or unknowingly, to sign over the house to the person offering this help and still remain responsible for the mortgage payments. The person then either sells your house, collects other fees from you or holds onto the house and evicts you.

 

4) Sale and Leaseback Scams – In this scam, if you are a homeowner who still has some equity in your home, you will be convinced to sign over title in your home and pay rent to the scam artist with the promise that they can bail you out, cure your problems and that you will be allowed to buy back the house later at a bargain price. All of this can be accomplished, but only if the property is in the consultant’s name. The payments you make go directly to the scam artist and eventually you will find yourself holding the bag. You may also find yourself evicted when you can no longer make the excessive rent payments. If you have lost your job and are having trouble making your house payments, even if you have equity in your home, you may be tempted by this scam. And while you would be entitled to the excess equity in your home if the house is sold in foreclosure, when you fall victim to this scam, you will lose the equity when it is either sold out from under you or the equity is stripped away by the new owner.

 

5) The Trust Me, I’m Religious or I Was In The Military Too Scam – These people posing as Christians, former members of the military or members of whatever social organizations you belong to come complete with references from members of your church or with military haircuts and promise that by adding them to the title to your home, they can rescue you from foreclosure, and have your credit repaired. Having gone through your mail or your trash, they probably know all about you. There’s no need to see a lawyer, they tell you. Just pray with them or have a drink with them and swap military stories. Just be sure to hold on to your wallet, don’t give them any money and don’t sign anything.

 

6) Sign Me Up Scotty And Get A New Loan Scam – In this scam, you are told that if you add the nice looking good Samaritan onto your title by signing a Grant Deed or other legal instrument, (which you are told, you don’t really need to read) this friendly person can apply for a new loan, which, unfortunately, if approved, will leave you on the hook for both the old loan payments and the new loan payments, and any up front fees you pay for this service will disappear with this fraud.

 

7) Buy My Books, Take This Seminar And Make Millions Scam – You may see this offer on late night television, on roadside signs or even on billboards. Only this time, you are talked into buying materials that are full of worthless information that will do nothing to help you avoid foreclosure. Even worse, the materials you receive may offer advice that will land you in jail by telling you how to approach others in foreclosure and advise you to tell them you can save them from foreclosure. The trouble is, what you will be doing is either practicing law without a license or acting as a credit repair agency or loan modification expert without a real estate license and without an advance fee agreement approved by the Commissioner of the California Department of Real Estate and without being registered with the California Department of Justice.

 

The Short Sale Scam – In this scam, the “short sale specialist” who contacts you promises his expertise to accomplish a short sale in a small amount of time that will protect your credit. There is a fee of course that would have been better spent on groceries. When the real estate market was better, there were additional wrinkles to this scam that today are more difficult to perpetrate due to the difficulty of selling homes in this economy.

 

9) It’s Like Magic – Here the homeowner is told to sign one thing, but the homeowner winds up signing something altogether. In some instances of this bait and switch scam, the scam artist will serve as the notary as well. In conjunction with this and other scams, or in other variations, forgery may be utilized, and identity theft employed as well.

 

10) Want Somewhere Cheap To Rent Scam – Here the bogus homeowner or leasing agent takes your rent payment and security deposit and rents or leases you vacant residential or commercial property, that isn’t owned by the person you are talking with and if you are talking with a leasing agent, this “agent” has no authority to offer you the property for rent or lease.

 

11) How About A Nice Loan Modification Scam – As with foreclosure consultants, loan modification services are strictly regulated by California statutes. If you have lost money or your home to a foreclosure consultant or someone promising to obtain a loan modification or cure to your problems and they have violated these statutes, in some cases you may be entitled to any moneys paid to them, but also, in some cases, your other actual damages, equitable relief, reasonable attorney’s fees and costs and punitive damages of three times the compensation received or misapplied by the foreclosure consultant or loan modification service who contracted with you.

 

It is difficult, if not impossible, to recover your money when you have been the victim of any of these types of fraud. However, there are times when the persons attempting to defraud you simply don’t know better and are otherwise responsible citizens and business people who don’t know the law, or conveniently fail to research the law, and who may either have errors and omissions insurance or assets which may cover their indiscretions.

 

Such defendants may include real estate brokers, foreclosure consultants, loan modification companies and services and mortgage brokers.

 

These parties may be responsible if they made misrepresentations to you, committed fraud, charged you fees and collected such fees in advance for foreclosure consultant services, failed to follow the strict regulations set forth in the California Civil Code and Business and Professions Code or had you pay fees in advance for loan modifications under agreements that have not been approved by the Commissioner of the California Department of Real Estate. The laws in California are very strict as to when you may be charged fees for such services and under what circumstances.

 

If a person makes promises or representations to you without any intent to perform the services promised, and if you have been damaged as a result of your reliance on those promises or representations, you may have a valid claim against that person for fraud. Such promises may include a promise that they will be able to obtain a modification of your loan or to save you from foreclosure, and will likely require you to pay up-front fees that do little, if any, good.

 

Here are the five tips of advice we recommend to anyone in this situation being approached by people offering help.

 

1. Avoid any solicitations of help that come unexpectedly, by mail, e-mail and by telephone or to your door.

 

2. Avoid using any help agency whose name you find on roadside signs such as those which state “We Buy Homes For Cash” and those which promise to “Stop Foreclosure.”

 

3. Avoid paying up-front fees to foreclosure or loan modification experts.

 

4. Disregard anyone who tells you not to talk to your bank or tells you to avoid consulting with a lawyer.

 

5. Don’t sign anything without having it reviewed by a real estate lawyer.

 

Red flags to you that you are about to be scammed should include requests of you for any of the following: to pay money up-front before any service has been performed, payment by cash, cashier’s checks or bank wires only, transfers of title, actions to be taken immediately, power of attorney, signatures on grant deeds, signatures without any explanation or while under time constraints, signatures on incomplete documents, and mortgage payments to persons other than the mortgage company.

 

Other red flags include unqualified promises, offers that sound too good to be true, failures to provide you with copies of what you sign, oral promises that are in conflict with written provisions, refusals to put the oral promises in writing, oral statements that the provisions in writing don’t mean what they say or won’t be enforced, and warnings not to discuss the matter with an attorney, your lender or anyone else.

 

If you have a business or real estate legal matter in Palm Springs or Palm Desert, in Ontario or Rancho Cucamonga, Temecula or Murrieta, Newport Beach or Huntington Beach, Anaheim or Santa Ana, El Cajon or Carlsbad, Palmdale or Victorville, Long Beach or Santa Monica, Ventura or Oxnard, or anywhere in Southern California, our Palm Springs, San Diego, Orange County, Inland Empire, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo law firm has the knowledge and resources to be your Business Lawyers and Real Estate Attorneys. If you’ve been the victim of a real estate, business, loan modification or foreclosure scam or fraud, be sure to hire a law firm with experience in loan modification, foreclosure and real estate fraud in California and who will endeavor to ensure that your rights are properly represented.

 

To learn more about such scams or the statutes which regulate loan modification and foreclosure consultants, or for legal representation, call the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson at any of the numbers on our website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com .

About the Author

The Sebastian Gibson Law Firm serves all of San Diego, Orange County, the Inland Empire, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, the Imperial Valley, the Central Coast and all of Southern California. We stand ready to assist you with any type of Business or Real Estate matter, Personal Injury, Auto, Truck, Motorcycle, Pedestrian, Bicycle and Car Accidents, Brain Damage, Catastrophic Injuries, Wrongful Death, Landlord Tenant issues, Homeowner Association matters, Construction, Trademarks, Patents, Corporations, Entertainment, Sports Law, Marketing, Advertising, Media, and Copyright Law. Sebastian Gibson is both an attorney and a Realtor in California with over 30 years of legal experience.

Visit our website at http://www.sebastiangibsonlaw.com if you have a civil legal matter of any kind. We have the knowledge and resources to represent you as your California Loan Modification Lawyer and California Foreclosure Attorney for any losses you may have sustained as a result of real estate fraud, loan modification scams, foreclosure consultant violations, as well as for Environmental and Toxic Tort Law, Litigation, International, Shipping and Maritime Law, Employment, Election and Campaign Finance Law, Consumer Law and Class Actions, Constitutional, Publishing, Publicity, Privacy Rights, Internet Law, Advertising and Media Law, Food and Wine Law, Hotel and Restaurant Law, Estate Planning, Wills and Trusts, Water, Agricultural and Natural Resource Law, Insurance Law, Bad Faith and Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist Defense, Education Law and all types of Personal Injury Accidents.

Motel 6 Temecula, Temecula,CA $55.99 Hotel property Motel 6 Temecula, 1 Star, 41900 Moreno Road in Temecula, CA, United States

Rodeway Inn Temecula, Temecula,CA $54.99 Hotel property Rodeway Inn Temecula, 1 Star, 28718 Front Street in Temecula, CA, United States

Springhill Suites By Marriott Temecula, Temecula,CA $109 Hotel property Springhill Suites By Marriott Temecula, 2.5 Star, 28220 Jefferson Avenue in Temecula, CA, United States

La Quinta Inn & Suites Temecula, Temecula,CA $79 Hotel property La Quinta Inn & Suites Temecula, 2.5 Star, 27330 Jefferson Ave in Temecula, CA, United States

Holiday Inn Express Temecula, Temecula,CA $86 Hotel property Holiday Inn Express Temecula, 2.5 Star, 27660 Jefferson Avenue in Temecula, CA, United States

Green Marketing Ads – Believing In The Business Of Sustainability

With global warming reaching to an alarming high and deteriorating environmental condition more and more companies are leaning towards green marketing.Fuel price hike also accentuated the process of environmental awareness through green marketing and advertising.Here we need to mention that the ads that actually focus on the green products or speak about the company’s future intention to launch environ friendly products are actually fall in the category of green advertising.

Despite increasing numberof green marketing ads and campaigns green marketing has not lived up to the hopes and demands of environmentalists.The hope that was initially generated with green marketing advertisements has been hurt by the notion that sustainable products do not really carry on their environmental promises.Green marketing still has a long way to go.But there is no denying that the situation is improving.

People are waking up to green.From Organic Food to hybrid cars to energy saving appliances to reclaimed furniture growing number of consumers are ready to buy sustainable products these days than ever before.

Sincere initiatives from the side of the government of a country help to spread green awareness among its people to a great extent.Since more and more advertisers are seeking to promote their eco-friendly credentials the responsibility lies on the government that they should set a standard for sustainable products in order to prevent deception and degradation of product quality.Take the example of Canadian Competition Bureau of the Canadian Standards Association.The bureau has released Green Marketing Guidelines to help green business communities.

The guideline speaks about deceptive environmental claims by companies.According to the guideline generalized environmental claims are vague and insufficient hence should be avoided.It further emphasizes that environmental claims need to be specific,accurate and clearly understandable.

Green marketing gets tougher with people being skeptical on quality of such products.It is also the responsibility of the company that they should keep in mind that customers are unlikely to compromise on product features such as quality,price, availability that come with traditionally manufactured products.Therefore it is good to for the companies to realize that there is no single marketing strategy for a company to sell green products.

As manufacturers tend to believe in the business of sustainability there is increasing number of organizations coming up with environmentally sustainable products.The pioneer in green-technology Hewlett-Packard company has recycled 1 billion pounds of electronics goods within six months and raised its target to 2 billion pounds and set a deadline of three years that is about to end by 2010.

Grocery chains also began patronizing sustainable eating with organic food that is actually recycled from the leftover food available in the hotels. Dozens of companies are finding values in practicing food conservation.Whole Food,with its commitment to sustainability is a leader in the arena of Organic Food Production.

With soaring fuel prices car companies are turning towards green.While famous car brands like Lexus,Cadillac,GMC,Toyota, and Ford are designing fuel efficient hybrid cars Honda has already moved on to emission-free cars with FCX Clarity hydrogen-fuel-cell.Chevrolet is also going to unveil its Chevy Volt,a fully electric car in 2010.

However,one needs to understand that green marketing is not just green advertising that manifests environmental awarenessand concerns of a company while promoting its products.It is all about using the communication channels and media topersuade consumers to pick up more sustainable products and in turn,help companies realize the market need for theireco-friendly products.

About the Author

Steve is a media professional and writes for different online publications on media and advertising industry.For more information on branding strategy and brand identity marketing,he recommends you to visit http://www.brandweek.com/.

Preserve BPA-Free 10-by-8-Inch Cutting Board When Preserve set out to design a cutting board,  we  wanted to address common frustrations with existing plastic boards. First,  we  textured the surface to provide better gripping. The texture also hides knife marks so the board looks good for years. Then,  we  added a curved handle to keep the board stable during chopping and to aid in transferring your food from board to bowl. Like th…

Yerba Prima Tampico Skin Brush …

HAPPYBABY Organic Puffs, Greens Puffs, 2.1-Ounce Containers (Pack of 6) $11.59 HAPPYBABY organic puffs, green puffs are made with whole grains and the natural flavor of green vegetables–gives your baby variety and builds growing palettes. These are the very first melt-in-your-mouth organic finger foods for your baby. These puffs teach the baby tactility, self-feeding and might buy you some much needed silence. The puffs come in a green packaging that reduces HAPPYBABY&rsq…

HAPPYBELLIES Organic Super Cereals, DHA, pre & Probiotics + Choline, Organic Brown Rice Cereal, 7-Ounce Canisters (Pack of 6) $17.95 HAPPYBELLIES organic baby cereal, organic brown rice is the perfect first solid food for babies–it is healthy, delicious, and sure to please the palette. It is all organic with 100% natural ingredients, no pesticides, no chemical fertilizers, no genetic modifications, and no preservatives. Recommended by Dr. Bob Sears, this product is enriched with DHA for brain and eye development, plus iron, vi…

Coombs Family Farms 100% Pure Organic Maple Syrup Grade B, 32-Ounce Jug $16.49 Coombs Family Farms 100% Pure Organic Ma ple Syrup Grade B; 32-Ounce Jug…

The Market $25 The Market at Norris Ferry is the place you want to go for a quaint, elegant dining experience. From their extensive wine list, succulent USDA hand cut aged Angus Steaks, to homemade house desserts, there is no mistake that you are in the right place. Karen Vanderkuy is committed to serving only the freshest seafood, salads and sauces. Organic produce is one of the things she utilizes, when at all possible. The attention that she gives to detail and taste, texture and presentation makes her eclectic cuisine the talk of town. She has served the Shreveport/Bossier area for over 24 years in the food industry. She knows what you want! Her menu changes weekly, so check The Market’s website, themarketnorrisferry.com to see what delicious entrees she will be whipping up that week!

Karma Organic Food for Dogs $23.99 Karma Organic Food for Dogs

Oxbow BeneTerra Organic Rabbit Food $9.03 Oxbow BeneTerra Organic Rabbit Food

PetGuard Organic Mature Cat Food $12.59 PetGuard Organic Mature Cat Food

Why People Love Health Food Gift Baskets

I believe many people are starting to try to eat healthier now.  It used to be tougher for those people who used to have a hard time finding gift baskets for those that were more health conscious.

Not that there is anything wrong, with getting the traditional cheese, chocolate, or cookie gift baskets that many people get.  As a matter of fact, that will probably never go out of style.

But what about those times, when you want your gift to say, “enjoy, but stay on that diet of yours”?  For those, they can be really thankful for the popularity that has grown from health food gift baskets.

Health food sometimes has a negative connotation.  Many people think because its healthy, it means it tastes lousy and nothing could be further from the truth.

Actually, most health food gift baskets carry food such as sugar free cookies or baked (not fried) potato chips, so just because it has the word “health” on the title doesn’t meant that you can’t enjoy a good snack.

There are also many gift basket companies who have gotten in to organic foods.  For example, Givens & Company has wide variety of organic gift baskets, such as all organic nuts such almonds, cashews, California nuts, and many more.

You can find out more about them by going to the gift basket reviews page.

These kind of gift baskets are perfect for any kind of occasion. They could be a congratulations for finally getting a promotion at their job.  It could al be as simple as for a birthday or anniversary of some kind.

The main goal is to splurge for a loved one, but also keep it on the healthy side. It also never hurts to get a fruit gift basket.  These will never go out of style, as they have been around for many years now, and will continue to do so.

About the Author

Sites like the GiftTree have literally dozens of different gift baskets for which to choose from. They are all elegantly designed and some even have dried fruits such as figs.

Karma Organic Food for Dogs $23.99 Karma Organic Food for Dogs

Oxbow BeneTerra Organic Rabbit Food $9.03 Oxbow BeneTerra Organic Rabbit Food

PetGuard Organic Mature Cat Food $12.59 PetGuard Organic Mature Cat Food