DREAMS FORECLOSED: The Rampant Theft of Americans' Homes
DREAMS FORECLOSED: The Rampant Theft of Americans' Homes
DREAMS FORECLOSED: The Rampant Theft of Americans' Homes
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<strong>DREAMS</strong> <strong>FORECLOSED</strong>: <strong>The</strong> <strong>Rampant</strong> <strong>The</strong>ft <strong>of</strong> Americans’ <strong>Homes</strong> Through Equity-stripping Foreclosure “Rescue” Scams<br />
INTRODUCTION:<br />
THE BLIND SPOT 100,000 HOMES WIDE<br />
If a tsunami were to sweep across America, selectively taking with it thousands upon<br />
thousands <strong>of</strong> people’s homes, would the news media cover it<br />
What if many thousands <strong>of</strong> people awoke one morning to find their retirement savings<br />
suddenly missing Would the Congress take note<br />
Well, something quite similar is going on. <strong>Homes</strong> are literally being stolen from their<br />
owners all over the country.<br />
In this report you'll read about those who target many thousands <strong>of</strong> good people, people<br />
<strong>of</strong>ten under serious stress, and shake all or most <strong>of</strong> the value out <strong>of</strong> what’s <strong>of</strong>ten their only major<br />
asset. <strong>The</strong> wrecked lives the predators leave behind are not their concern.<br />
It's hard for most Americans, and even watchdogs like the news media, to grasp that a<br />
small-but-significant slice <strong>of</strong> society is composed <strong>of</strong> those who coldly prey on others. Most <strong>of</strong> us<br />
don't see this because we can’t believe, as the predators do, that duping and scamming our<br />
neighbors or taking advantage <strong>of</strong> their trust is a good way to live.<br />
But these predators aren’t just “a few bad apples,” as their apologists are <strong>of</strong>ten quick to<br />
claim. And their impact reaches far beyond their relatively-small numbers. Such predators are a<br />
big reason why we've always needed consumer protection laws in America. Now, the modern<br />
collision <strong>of</strong> a deregulated economy with the “middle-class squeeze” <strong>of</strong> stagnating wages and rising<br />
costs for many life necessities makes new and stronger laws all the more vital.<br />
When a family’s hard-earned home equity is pillaged even those who've worked very hard<br />
and played by the rules are <strong>of</strong>ten left just one bad break away from ruin -- with all its attendant<br />
stress, heartache and family unraveling.<br />
Something needs to be done, and more will be said about that in this report.<br />
But the first, tiny step is waking up and seeing the problem.<br />
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