Poor Choice of Wording for News Report on Mortgage Modifications
I was listening to the local nightly news the other night and they said something that I thought was quite alarming and somewhat careless. They were reporting on the credit crunch and the plans for Countrywide Home Loans to modify some of their existing customers mortgage terms. This is all true, but the method they were giving for Countrywide Home Loans to contact people who are potentially able to receive these modifications was a little bit scary. The news report stated that Countrywide Home Loans would be contacting people via the phone to inform them of potential changes that could be made in their mortgage terms. If this is true, please do not give your personal information over the phone to anyone calling you directly. If a representative from Countrywide Home Loans contacts you, personally call their office back and reach them with a phone number that you can verify in the phone book before giving them any personal information (i.e. social security number). I would hate for anyone to get scammed by someone claiming to be from Countrywide Home Loans trying to modify your home mortgage terms for a fee. Countrywide Home Loans is a very reputable lending institution that will be more than understanding if you have to call them back on a phone number that you can verify before giving them any of your personal information. It is very easy for someone to look up which lender is servicing a loan and only call people who have a mortgage with Countrywide Home Loans. Protect yourself and your identity.
If you haven't done so, take the time to pull your credit report and make sure that nobody has already taken your identity. You are allowed to pull your own credit reports once a year to make sure that nothing is out of the ordinary. There are several great websites available that can give you a free look at your credit report once per year. I have used http://www.annualcreditreport.com/ to check my Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion credit file disclosures (credit reports) once every year since 2004. It's a great way to double check that no one is using your name and good credit without your knowledge.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about any of the issues I have raised in this post, feel free to add them below for answers or review.
Jason Tangen, GRI
www.jasontangen.edinarealty.com
www.StCloudEdina.com/blog - REAL ANSWERS for REAL ESTATE in St Cloud, MN
