Why Are There So Few Info Products On Stopping Foreclosure?

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I have a family member going through foreclosure (not me) and it gave me the idea of possibly creating an info product on how to stop foreclosure or avoiding it altogether.

I used to be a real estate agent, and so I do have the knowledge and resources to create the product. The thing is though, there's a lot of competition and I only found a couple of actual info products on the subject. Although I know that really doesn't matter, I'm just curious as to why more people aren't doing the research on this subject and trying to sell the information.

The information is easy to obtain yes, but you have to wade through a lot of stuff to get it. But with the U.S. housing market so in the tank, and so many people losing their homes, this seems to have become a very desperate niche. So is anyone here working in that market? Just curious. Thanks!
#main internet marketing discussion forum #foreclosure #info #products #stopping
  • I'm not working in that niche - yet. But it would seem to me to be a viable niche to be in.

    Give it a go - since you have experience and perspective, I think a product like this could be really helpful for a lot of people.

    Rob
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    • Yeah that's what I was thinking too...Thanks for your input Rob!
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  • Any IMer who enters this niche would be well-advised to have a highly competent attorney on retainer and be prepared to pay for plenty of vetting before any product is released. Possible areas of concern are practicing law without a license, charging an illegal, up-front fee and impersonating a government agency.

    There have been wretched, stunningly egregious abuses in this niche. And it also is known that so-called "sovereign citizens' park in this niche, selling everything from foreclosure-rescue plans to fill-in-the-blank "legal" templates purported to halt foreclosures.

    Some of the cases in this niche are truly bizarre. I wrote about one in which a man claimed that posting a bond consisting of $21 in "silver coinage" at a federal courthouse in Missouri could stop a foreclosure.

    There is a case in Arizona right now in which a "sovereign citizen" in this niche allegedly filed a petition to place the United States in involuntary bankruptcy and caused more than 170 bogus claims to be filed against the United States. The claims allegedly totaled more than $2.5 TRILLION.

    It is something approaching a certainty that players in this niche will gain the enmity of banks and will garner the attention of the Feds. In no small way, this niche is a replacement niche for some of the credit-repair scams of yesteryear.

    Some IMers got nailed last week by the FTC. Among other things, the defendants allegedly used websites that mimicked government websites:

    FTC Asks Court To Halt Defendant from Impersonating Federal Agencies While Steering Consumers to Mortgage, Tax, and Debt Relief Services

    Patrick
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  • I actually own stopforeclosure. net
    If you create a good product I might be interested in promoting it
    I havent found anything good either.
    Because of this I havent really done much work to the site.
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    • If it is construed as giving legal advice, you can get in trouble. Attorneys do not like competition and they usually write the laws. As one other person metioned - the laws vary by state.

      I think the only way people can get any real help in foreclosure - is probably from an attorney and they often are not much help.
  • Thanks for your responses...I don't plan on giving legal advice or any type of advice other than resources people can use or where they can go to stop or avoid foreclosure. There are a lot of different avenues you can go and there are a lot of government resources you can use.

    There's a lot of ways to help people in this market that I see without being an attorney or a government agency. There's also a lot of good information that can be compiled and put into a report that people don't want to take the time to have to sift through and look up when they are in a panic because they are being foreclosed on.
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    • Trying doing it just in the state you live in with an attorney partner. Seems like good times for it or you could do informational and do it for all 50 states just put a disclaimer.

      Blake
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  • Foreclosure is state specific issue. Also it is different if it is secured by a mortgage, or a trust deed. So many variables it would be difficult to write one report on it. Even people that work in this market get confused by things often. And then they change frequently.
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    • That would open room for a membership with permanently updated, STATE specific information.

      Or am I wrong here?

      I think that this could be a great niche if you know some about. like OP.

      G.
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    • Very true. The are many variables. The law doesn't change (unless you are monitoring legislation being introduced that would revise a particular statute), but the homeowners paperwork is an important aspect of the foreclosure process and a time consuming endeavor to read and decipher.
  • I've been aware of this niche for way too long, and also in contact with many a family facing foreclosure. There is no crystal ball, no magic process that will stop a foreclosure. It is, as others have said, dependent on state law, the banks, your tenacity, the level of stress you can endure, and just plain luck.

    This week Suze Orman was interviewed and she suggested that everyone who is underwater on their mortgage by at least 20% just walk away.
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    • I understand that people are in dire circumstances and the real estate market is in an extreme state, but...

      I think this is truly HORRIBLE advice to give on a general/blanket basis. I'm not a Pollyanna and have recently been going through some difficult financial circumstances myself... But I think part of what got our economy into this mess in the first place is people not honoring their obligations in the first place.

      I'm sure there's a time and place for bankruptcy/walking away from your mortgage. But those should be the EXCEPTIONS. Unfortunately, they're becoming the rule.

      Unfortunately, there's no free lunch. Someone ALWAYS pays. If the homeowner doesn't pay, then the lender does. He's got expenses associated with repossessing the house and putting it back up for sale. Which drives up his costs, which drive up EVERYBODY'S costs.

      Not to mention the price you pay in bad credit and all that that entails...

      Grrrr!

      Michelle
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  • On the other side of the coin is the homeowner. Seriously - if you were at risk of losing your home would you be on the net buying some ebook by god-knows-who or would you be at an attorney's office? Who would you turn to if it was your home.

    I'm not saying that you don't know anything or aren't smart - but realistically -- would you be looking for an attorney or a marketer if it was your home?
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    • HeySal,...

      People who can't make their mortgage payment usually don't have $1,500-$4,000 for retainer fees for an attorney who 'at best,' MIGHT find some sort of 'breach' of contract on the lenders part for which the homeowner could counter sue (with a lot more money than just the retainer fee to be paid to the lawyer to pursue.)

      -Dani
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    • There are many products about "how to stop foreclosure" - but as others have said this isn't a process where you can buy a book and have a solution.

      State laws vary widely - lenders may or may not pursue fast foreclosure and many of the delaying tactics and remedies in books simply aren't realistic or possible.

      Right now in many states lenders are putting of the final foreclosure action because it doesn't suit them to own more empty houses. In the spring - there may be a spike as they rush to catch up and move faster.

      A more useful book would point out the scams and the reliance people are putting into these government "saves". Many of the loans modified went into full foreclosure the moment the trial modification expired - even though the homeowner followed everything to the letter and made all payments required. Some financial experts are warning about this - but the public is largely unaware of the facts.

      It's a minefield for homeowners in default - but you can't keep someone from facing a foreclosure nor is there a brilliant way to stop the process.

      I had a free ebook on stopping foreclosure a couple years ago and there was a demand for the info. I took the book down because the information, though correct, was only the basic of how to try to work with your lenders, etc - and those things aren't working today. I didn't want to give away something that would give false hope.
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    • To the OP - There are a myriad of reasons the information may not be readily available. The one of legality seems to be the most obvious - To offer an opinion on the subjects involved with a foreclosure you no doubt would need to be licensed in one if not many disciplines and as mentioned each state has it's own code. - That said ; you can always tout yourself as a "writer" citing experts in the field.

      Winlin-
  • The only "products" I am aware of to stop foreclosures are modification companies who claim they can help a homeowner get a modification. 99% of these companies are scam artists who offer a certain price to stop foreclosure or modify the loan for a fee.

    Most mod companies (not all, as there are few, albeit very few, legitimate mod businesses) don't stand a chance in hell to get a loan modified nor stop a foreclosure.

    The majority of these mod companies are scum of the earth. They prey on homeowners who are desperate, cannot afford to pay their mortgage, food, meds, etc., and offer them a well rehearsed sales pitch promising to do something they cannot do. Hmm, that sounds familiar.

    I started beingmiddleclass.org approximately two years ago. I too am a licensed Realtor. And I have been helping people fight foreclosure and get loan modifications for two years.

    As others have said, and as you know scrofford, foreclosure laws vary by State and many issues come into play when getting a modification or a foreclosure stopped.

    The government's Making Home Affordable Program/HAMP is a failure. It is nothing more than a prop for the banks. It actually rewards banks with a financial incentive to start a homeowner on a "trial program". The banks have no intention of modify the loans, yet are more than happy to accept this government handout. After the banks string the homeowner along for as long as the homeowner continues to send in a reduced payment, the banks drop the hammer on the homeowner with an apology that they cannot help the homeowner.

    MHA/HAMP is an absolute nightmare.

    When you send your monthly mortgage payment to a bank, they are collecting that debt for investors. In the majority of cases, the bank does not own your loan. The likelihood that your loan was securitized aka sliced and diced and sold on Wall Street is about 80%+.

    This is an extremely complex issue not only due to securitization, but due to the fact that the bankster is bound by a pooling and servicing agreement with their investors, and are only allowed to remove a certain percentage of loans from a pool, modify it, and put it back into the pool.

    The only way I have been able to convince a banks to modify a loan is by proving that the chain of title has been broken and/or there are serious problems with the documentation recorded at local levels, i.e. fraudulent documents. Some of you may have heard of robo signing. That's a sugar coated term for filing fraudulent documents in courts and land records throughout the US.

    The other way I have been successful in getting loan mods and stopping foreclosure is by threatening the banks with media exposure. I have drafted many press releases I sent to the banks with a threat to release them should they continue to pursue foreclosure.

    When I hear about loan modification companies, services, etc. that claim they can help homeowners, I research them and when I find their claims to be fraudulent, I report them to the Attorney General.

    Sorry, probably a little more information than you wanted to read, but it is an issue - not a "niche" in my opinion that is very near and dear to me.

    If you want, have your friend contact me or point him/her to my forum. We help people, free.
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    • Hi Lori,
      I'd love to check out your forum. Is it strictly about loan modifications since the Bailout?

      That aside, there are other ways to stop a foreclosure than just a loan modification, the most obvious of which is 'curing the default.' Others include selling the house, and short selling if necessary. If you act early enough in the process, you can cure and rent to at least stop the foreclosure and damaged credit. Foreclosure is a ticking time bomb, the earlier you identify it, and start to diffuse it, the more likely you are to stop the explosion.

      Long before the bailout, there were loan modifications and forebarance agreements. And even then, something like 60% of the agreements went back into default again within 4 months.

      You can still get loan modifications and forebarance agreements, and short sales, depending on the case you can 'build a case' for it...(new job, replenished income, crime rate statistics, condition of property, and the condition of the lender itself at the time, as they're much more likely to accept a low-ball short sale offer at the end of a fiscal quarter or fiscal year)

      Usually it's the 'We Buy Houses' and 'Stop Foreclosure' investors who construct and actually succeed with these negotiations and deals, and they're usually lumped in with the 'bad guys' of 'loan mod companies' which is often because the first thing the homeowner wants is to 'save their house', and having heard of the 'loan modification' program from the Bailout, wont discuss any other option until that option is completely killed.

      Often times, the homeowner (especially in the current economy) can't recover from something like a loss of income, which caused the default in the first place, to actually be a good candidate for a loan modification, and despite that selling makes the most sense, are holding on to a emotional attachment to 'home' and 'home ownership,' so they force the issue of the loan modification before sale. The river of "De Nile" runs deep.

      -Dani
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    • Actually that is great information. I've done a bit of investigation on the loan mod "industry" and deterimined it to be nothing but a flimflam with firms claiming to be able to force the banks to negotiate on your mortgage payments. The truth is, since we the people, actually bailed the banks out in the first place, there should have been some legislation that required actions to help homeowners who were gamed by the gatekeepers of the system. Mainly, the banks. Unfortunately politics has prevented any real solutions the foreclosure problem. The banks that were too big to fail in 2008, are now even bigger. The madness continues.
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  • Well, I earn via Adsense for this niche...
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    • What do you mean? You have a site or book or company that markets to people wanting to stop foreclosure?
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    • Absolutely, a one size fits all product would be very difficult due to the fine line of legal advice and providing an opinion.

      I have a list of every state's foreclosure laws on my forum. The members and I exchange opinions and it is up to the homeowners to form their own opinions.
  • Really?










    Please, please tell me this is a troll thread and you're joking.

    If not, perhaps start a thread on "The Huge Untapped Market of Selling New Clothes to Homeless People"...
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    • Yeah this is a troll thread...get real...why would you even think that? Did you read my OP? There's a huge difference between hundreds to thousands of dollars to pay up your mortgage if you're behind and paying for some information to help either avoid foreclosure or find the resources to stop it.

      Just because someone can't pay their house payment doesn't mean they can't pay for other things. I know people who have been in foreclosure who didn't have the money to catch up on their house payment but still had an income. They were able to rent, buy food, buy toiletries etc.
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  • The only universally effective way I know of to stop
    foreclosure in all 50 states is filing a bankruptcy petition.
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    • Filing bankruptcy won't stop foreclosure. You still would have to give up your home.
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  • Banned
    [DELETED]
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    • Desperate buyers who have no money............. :rolleyes:
  • The appreciation rate on real property in this country has risen at a modest 6% annual average for the past two decades until a few years ago.

    Yes, I blame the banks who run this country for not merely ruining the US housing economy, being responsible for millions of people out of work, and also failing to put safeguards in place to prevent a future meltdown.




    I want to apologize for hijacking this thread and going off topic. Please feel free to delete my posts. It seems I cannot control myself when it comes to this subject.
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    • Banned
      And that's why no one should take anything you say in this thread seriously. Not to mention this:

      Isn't threats/extortion/blackmail illegal?
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  • Black Hat - If you don't consider my posts informative, that's your opinion.

    A press release is a form of negotiation. I doubt you understand the process of negotiating a loan modification.

    And by the way, I don't merely threaten with press releases, I use them if necessary.
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    • Lori - I have read the work you have posted at beingmiddleclass.org. You have truly fought for people in incredibly dire situations, and often won. But you never gave false hope.

      Thank you.
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    • Lori, thank you for the insightful analysis. You were totally spot-on when you said--

      >>Not only were loans guaranteed by the government, they were insured against loss (AIG) and the banks set up this scheme not just knowing the loans would fail, but betting they would. <<

      Loans were designed (rigged) to produce higher default rates and marketed to thoses people who would most likely take the "bait". Bundles of these loans were then sold to other banks who would then "service" (collect the mortgage payments). Those servicing banks win big with these struggling loans-- they profit from hefty fees for late payments and if the loan defaults they are reimbursed through insurance. The banks have no reason to grant loan modifications when it is so profitable to let them default.
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  • There is most definitely something to be said for simplifying this niche, and explaining alternatives in a way that the average layperson could understand. I wonder how the OP would reach the people in need of this info? WHERE would you market such a product?
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    • I could tell you, but then I'd have to....



      Charge you 10 g's.

      -Dani
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  • Consider that maybe there's a reason there's no info products in this niche...

    Dear consumer: Would you like a lawsuit with that ClickBank report? Or just some good sound legal advice?

    For $17 a month, you can sign up for a legal service where you can get all of your questions answered by state-licensed attorneys. They get bashed because they do not and will not either file a lawsuit on your behalf or defend you if you get sued (except in extremely narrow circumstances). But you CAN call them every day with legal questions, have them review contracts, write letters and make phone calls on your behalf. And they're all honest-to-goodness lawyers.

    Why anybody would try to "pretend" to give advice or information as a non-lawyer when for about the same price someone could get a full month (or more) of access to REAL lawyers simply boggles my mind.

    I've been a member of this organization for over a decade. Someone will have to pry my membership out of my cold dead hands, as they've SAVED me more money than what it'll cost me to pay for my membership for the rest of my life.

    Although I can sell their products, I don't promote them at all because their marketing focuses on how likely you are to be sued. However, virtually 100% of the benefits I've gotten from them (and my friends) has been related to debt, credit, and tax-related issues, which they don't even discuss in their marketing literature, which is truly sad.

    I have had dozens and dozens of calls (and a few meetings) with them over the years about foreclosure (on a home I owned and lost back in 2003), bankruptcy options, credit issues, abusive collection agencies, multiple collectors trying to collect the same alleged (and invalid) debt, credit bureaus that refused to remove inaccurate things from my credit profile, how to negotiate settlements with creditors, etc.

    I've also been sued three times in the past decade by creditors. These guys helped me resolve things without costing me a penny more than my monthly membership fee. What Clickbank report is going to do that for you?

    Again, their marketing literature does not discuss ANY of this stuff. But they can and do help with ALL of it. I even had the founding partner of a firm help me with a complex IRS tax audit issue. All for $17 a month. Less than what most ClickBank reports cost -- at least, that's BEFORE you end up doing something that causes you to step on a landmine and subsequently lose thousands for failing to respond properly to some letter you got in the mail and didn't realize that not responding waives your rights to future claims.

    Clickbank report ... vs ... lawyers on call.

    Like ... DOH!

    NOTE: This is not an offer to buy or sell anything. Also, I'm a US Resident; benefits to others may vary.

    -David
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    • David,
      I have to ask, "Did you read this thread?"

      The ONLY thing a lawyer can do for a person in foreclosure, is to sift through thousands of dollars of 'billable hours' worth of contracts in the pursuit of the slight possibility that the lender somewhere, had breached the contract, giving the borrower a grounds for countersuit.

      On the off chance the breach is found, even more billable hours will be required to file suit, negotiate and argue... and all on the 'chance' of the court siding with the borrower...

      The $17 a month membership you have, something like prepaid legal, only covers so many hours, and I guarantee that it does not cover litigation.

      Even assuming that the homeowner had the money to fight, and there was a breach to fight for... that is THE ONLY THING an attorney can do for a homeowner in foreclosure.

      A homeowner in distress is best served with a basic knowledge of his market (the house's value according to comps, and how long, on average, a similar house in the air has to be on the market to sell)... and from that, work with a real real estate investor.

      Lawyers will screw up a deal as fast as real estate agents will, because of their Fiduciary Responsibilities to their clients, and because of their licenses.

      -Dani
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  • My gut instinct tells me that people facing foreclosure are generally struggling to control every penny spent, and maybe cannot convince themselves to spend an extra $47 to get a product that could help them save their home?
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    • You'd be surprised. I've had people pay me money to take their deed and take over their payments so that it didn't come to the point of foreclosure.

      -Dani
    • Actually, I think they could be persuaded to spend a lot more than $47 and that the acquisition of the product at any price likely only will compound their problems -- even if one allows for the possibility that an exceptionally well-vetted and legally scrubbed product could provide useful advice and not cross any lines.

      The niche exists at the FOUR STOP-SIGN intersection of extremely vulnerable and desperate customers, the worst IM predators and disingenuous opportunists, regulators and politicians. There are few more dangerous intersections at which an IMer might set up shop. There are land mines in every direction.

      I think I might actually projectile-vomit if an IMer advances a theory by which one should set up a membership site and some sort of continuity-billing scheme at this intersection.

      Covered a story at this intersection last year in which an MLMer told his affiliates that it was the "MORAL OBLIGATION" of churches to pitch a purported mortgage-reduction program that paid commissions 10 levels deep.

      Want to know what was more bizarre than that? The purported program was tied to another purported program in which the MLMer was soliciting for cash (to be charged on credit cards or funded via certified check) -- amid claims that the cash would be returned with purported interest of 20+ percent.

      The "program" was so badly mangled and tortured that the purported mortgage-reduction program was tied to a purported MLM "resorts" program -- i.e., target people who are losing their homes and try to get people of faith on board while simultaneously investing in time-share resorts in an exotic location.

      As my coverage proceeded, a person who was crazy as a loon looked at the sum of my coverage and somehow arrived at the conclusion that I was a tool for Israel and that the former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was a suspect in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

      Patrick
    • Or again like I've stated in earlier posts, maybe people who are desperate to keep their homes might spend $47 or more for information to help turn things around. To get the information they need to point them in the right direction to being able to keep their home or at least know their options.
    • I sold an e-course about foreclosure mitigation for $279.00 each. Although the laws are different in all 50 states, there are commonalities. There are either mortgages or deeds of trust, you must understand the difference, the process, and the laws of a given state. It can be covered in an easy to follow course.

      The problem is the banks were not negotiating in good faith, and system seemed to be rigged from the beginning (this is not political, just an informed observation).

      Those posters who are very judgmental about people in foreclosure should realize that there but for the grace of God (or whatever higher power you may believe in) go you. Remember, all you possess can be taken away from you in ways you never dreamed possible, very suddenly. You should be grateful it hasn't happened, and a whole lot more compassionate.
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  • Wow, I didn't mean for this to turn into a battle about what people thought about foreclosure and what not. I simply asked originally why in people's opinions there weren't many info products about either how to stop or prevent it.

    I'm not interested in giving legal advice or scamming people or doing anything of the sort. I think though that a product pointing people in the right direction as what to do when they have been foreclosed on could be very helpful. This isn't giving legal advice or giving snake oil advice.

    There are a lot of things people can do and many people just don't know what to do when it happens. Anyhow, I hope we can keep this thread on track so it doesn't get nuked because some people here have given some great information! Thanks to those of you who understand what I'm thinking doing and have given your thoughts and advice!
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    • Not your fault Steve. Your OP is a great topic that can be applied to overall niche research for creating info products in any niche but people can't help turning things political.

      That's why politics and religion topics are not allowed on the WF. They just turn nasty.

      http://www.warriorforum.com/off-topi...forbidden.html
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  • Maybe come up with information on how to do a short sell............ I am not sure if lots of people know anything about this. It may not help them save their house, but it may help them save their credit, so they can get another house later....
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    Why Are There So Few Info Products On Stopping Foreclosure?

    I have a family member going through foreclosure (not me) and it gave me the idea of possibly creating an info product on how to stop foreclosure or avoiding it altogether. I used to be a real estate agent, and so I do have the knowledge and resources to create the product. The thing is though, there's a lot of competition and I only found a couple of actual info products on the subject. Although I know that really doesn't matter, I'm just curious as to why more people aren't doing the research on this subject and trying to sell the information.