A number of the homeowners that we talk to everyday are motivated
by two main goals. The first, obviously, is to save their home from
foreclosure, avoid potential scams, and get their financial lives back
to normal. Teaching homeowners how to do each of these is the main
purpose of our website, which encourages every foreclosure victim to
gain the foreclosure information necessary to stop foreclosure on their
own. However, many homeowners that we talk to also have a secondary,
altruistic goal, which is to help families in similar situations avoid
facing foreclosure and the loss of their homes. In fact, some even want
to get into the foreclosure industry as a way to provide legitimate,
empathetic support to other foreclosure victims and make a career out of
helping others in need.

A good number of homeowners who have
faced foreclosure know just as much about the foreclosure process as
many of the major players in the real estate and mortgage industries.
Realtors, mortgage brokers, and representatives from mortgage companies
often know very little about how foreclosure actually works, as it is
not often studied. Rather, the basics of how mortgages work and how real
estate is transferred is focused on to the exclusion of the actual
process that banks use to take a home back that is in default. This
leaves the door wide open for former foreclosure victims to provide
their own foreclosure advice to other homeowners in financial hardships.

A
lot of foreclosure experts can do their work from home or in an office.
The main consideration will be what services are being provided to the
clients, though, to determine how easy it is for the new foreclosure
expert to manage the process of helping homeowners save their homes from
foreclosure. If a former foreclosure victims plans on helping to buy or
sell the actual foreclosed properties, they will need a real estate
license to act as anyone’s agent. They will also need to be a real
estate broker or work for a broker in order to ensure that there is
proper oversight and all the laws are being followed in the state.
Finding a local broker to work for is often easy for real estate agents,
as there is always someone looking to buy a house or sell a house.

However,
if the new foreclosure specialist is just interested in doing loss
mitigation work, there are no licensing requirements in most states,
although it is a good idea to check with the states that they plan on
doing business in. Some states have new regulations for loss mitigation,
including specific language that must be included in contracts or to be
disclosed to clients, so it is important to do the necessary research
to make the entire operation legal and successful. For the homeowner who
wants to help other foreclosure victims, there are also a number of
foreclosure help companies that one can become an affiliate of and work
through. Many of these companies specialize in helping homeowners put
together forbearance agreements or loan modifications, and provide
valuable services to foreclosure victims. Of course, it is wise to keep
an eye out for foreclosure scams, as well.

In terms of being scams or not, foreclosure experts
have two options. First, they can work for a company that they have
interviewed, researched, and come to trust and do the best that they
possibly can within their structure for the homeowners trying to stop
foreclosure. In reality, this might be a good place to start learning
the “back end” of the foreclosure industry and how people are able to
avoid going through foreclosure in various ways. Not every company will
be proficient in every way to save a home, of course, but many
foreclosure experts have been in the industry for a number of years, if
not decades. The important thing to remember, again, is to do the
research necessary to ensure that the company is legitimate and works
with the best interests of their clients in mind.

The second
option is for the foreclosure victim turned foreclosure specialist to
start their own business and work for himself or herself. That way, if
the entire operation turns out to be a scam, it is no one’s fault except
their own, but they can change it at a moment’s notice, since they
control the business that they own. If a former foreclosure victim wants
to help homeowners in foreclosure, and they can not trust anyone else
not to be a foreclosure scam, then all they have left is themselves.
Depending on how much they trust themselves to be honest with people,
they should consider doing it on their own.

Once a homeowner has
faced foreclosure and come through it, they can provide an important
perspective to other foreclosure victims in similar situations.
Especially as foreclosure is often accompanied by a transition period,
there may be an opportunity for homeowners to become the most powerful
positive force in the foreclosure industry and provide the most relevant
foreclosure advice available. Having shared a common experience is one
of the best ways to gain trust, and foreclosure victims have a valid
reasons to help others stop foreclosure and avoid the pain and
humiliation that accompany every foreclosure situation.