How is it that so many people think they can get paid for nothing? Every day there are more scam artists in the news, that have tried to get wealthy off distressed home owners. These scam artists offer to represent you in a mortgage modification negotiation in exchange for large sums of money upfront. They feed on the homeowner who is being faced with foreclosure, convince them they are negotiation experts, possibly even tell them they are a 'government agency', and once they get paid they do nothing. If the homeowner, who is now out money they could not afford to spend, attempts to contact these 'agencies', they disappear.

So when did it become good sense to pay someone for a job ahead of time? How is that the companies convince the victim to turn over funds they really do not have, to represent them in negotiations for a bill they can not pay?

While the grip of foreclosure may have its hand on you it is never good business sense to pay someone ahead of time to negotiate you. While you may be desperate and these promises may sound compelling and convincing, you should never open your check book to someone who has not done anything for you.

Another example of these scam artists feeding on concerned homeowners has hit the news. This time they are from Missouri. U.S. Foreclosure Relief is being sued by the Attorney General for tasking money to perform a job they never completed.

"Unfortunately, these tough economic times have brought out opportunists who prey on people at some of their most desperate and vulnerable moments," Koster said. "People facing the loss of a home may feel that they have no other choice but to turn to these fraudulent companies. The Attorney General's Office intends to stop them from doing business in Missouri," Koster added.

U.S. Foreclosure Relief advertised that they would work with a homeowner to stop the mortgage company from taking their home in a foreclosure. However, after investigation the Attorney General could not find any instance of service that had been completed by them.

Unsuspecting homeowners were getting charged a fee of $1,850 for its so-called services and also a $500 processing fee. The fees were required upfront. Not only is it not good business sense to pay some one in advance for work they have not completed in the case of foreclosure consultation, it is against the law in most states.

While the Attorney Generals offices are doing an excellent job of exposing these fraudulent companies they are telling the general public that they should not hire a negotiation agency.  "People need to be very cautious when considering turning to foreclosure consultants," Koster said. "In fact, in most cases, people are better off working directly with their lenders."

While this advice may sound sensible and compelling since it comes from the office of Attorney General, the truth is it is not good sense to enter negotiations with the very people that sold you a bad mortgage in the first place. You are best off if you hire a reputable and legitimate agency to represent you in mortgage modification negotiations. After all would you hand your car keys to a car thief?

When searching for a negotiation agency be sure to research the company out thoroughly and make sure they do not want to get paid for nothing.

Discover how you can ethically modify your home mortgage loan and save as much as 47% off your current mortgage payment in as little as 60 days without refinancing? For your FREE CD, FREE e-book, and FREE coaching call with Mortgage Modification Expert and Business Man of the Year Billy Alvaro visit our website Saint Jude's Mortgage Rescue