be•tray
– verb
1. to deliver or expose to an enemy by treachery or disloyalty: Benedict Arnold betrayed his country.
2. to be unfaithful in guarding, maintaining, or fulfilling: to betray a trust.
3. to disappoint the hopes or expectations of; be disloyal to: to betray one's friends.
4. to reveal or disclose in violation of confidence: to betray a secret.
5. to seduce and desert.
6. to be treacherous to: double-cross. Slang rat (on), sell out. Idioms: sell down the river.
7. to cause to accept what is false, especially by trickery or misrepresentation: beguile, bluff, cozen, deceive, delude, double-cross, dupe, fool, hoodwink, humbug, mislead, take in, trick.
8. What millions of financially-distressed homeowners are about to experience: to take advice from uninformed government officials, agencies or media mouthpieces.
Have you ever been betrayed? By a friend? A co-worker? A family member? A spouse? No matter who has betrayed you, it hurts. The degree of pain inflicted by the betrayer is usually commensurate with the level of trust you extended to that person.
A wise man once said: “Your enemies can never betray you. Only those whom you love or trust to get close enough to you can hurt and betray you.”
That’s a tough message to hear. Tough, but true.
Which is why you need to focus your attention on what will go down as one of the ugliest betrayals of public trust in American history: The dangerous advice being spoon-fed to distressed homeowners by the government, the lending industry, and the media. So at the risk of repeating myself…
Do not trust the advice being offered by President George W. Bush, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Secretary of Housing & Urban Development Alphonso Jackson.
Do not trust the advice being offered by Consumer Credit Counseling Service.
Do not trust advice offered by either federally-sponsored initiative, HopeNow or Project Lifeline.
Do not believe the “We’re here to help you!” letters you may have received from your mortgage company, or the advice being dished by so-called print, radio or TV “money” or “consumer finance” experts.
I know many of you might cut-and-run at this point. But before you do, let me suggest you check out the links at the end of this article for background info about my wake-up call to American homeowners. Now, hear this…
Before you attempt to renegotiate out of your financial mess, consider these sobering facts:
You’re dealing with people who work for the mortgage company and are paid to protect their employer’s (your lender’s) best interests — not yours! Approach these negotiations with the same level of caution that you would if you were pursuing a claim with an insurance company: Insurance claims adjusters have one goal, which is to pay out the least amount of money for claims. Adjusters refer to themselves as ‘loss containment specialists’ because their job is to pay as little as possible. You’ll be up against the same mindset if you try to restructure your mortgage on your own.
How large a principal reduction are you entitled to? You’ll never know the maximum amount of principal that could be forgiven if you rely on your lender to look out for your best interest! If your mortgage “counselor” tells you they’ll forgive $25,000 — but you should have received a $50,000 principal reduction — you’ll never know that you just left $25,000 on the table.
Many homeowners who have already bitten on “deals” offered through “HopeNow” or “Project Lifeline,” have signed themselves into future financial nightmares. Many of these “deals” were nothing more than forbearance agreements that only delay the inevitable. If you’re in a loan you can’t repay, you won’t be able to fulfill the new terms, regardless of the interest rate.
And it gets even worse: Many homeowners who agreed to these awful forbearance repayment plans may have really hurt themselves because some agreements were loaded with incorrect figures or packed with inflated and usurious fees that are not only inappropriate, they’re illegal.
Even more salt in the wound: Many of these agreements may also limit homeowners’ legal recourse. All of which prompts the question: Are you insane? Why would you trust a company who’s already taken advantage of you?
Here’s why: Because [fill this blank with the name of the government official or agency or uninformed media mouthpiece] told you to. Hmmmmmm, it smells like another expensive, heart-breaking betrayal just waiting to happen.
Know your rights. Know your options. And trust your common sense.
It’s one thing to be betrayed by others. It’s another to fool yourself.
Here are the related links and background information
supporting positions and predictions made in this article:
Fed chairman Ben Bernanke’s hopeful advice is loaded with consumer land mines! (March 6, 2008)
Wanna lower your credit scores by 100 points? Then jump on Project Lifeline! (February 21, 2008)
Why Project Lifeline Will Fail (February 14, 2008)
Listen to the enhanced podcast version of this article by clicking here.
