American Home Ownership Solutions

Effective October, 2009 in California, it is illegal to collect any fees, regardless of the form, for negotiating or attempting to negotiate a loan modification for a residential mortgage. All modification services must be fully completed before any money can be collected. It is also illegal to divide fees or services into components for the purpose of avoiding this law.

HUD approved housing counseling agencies are exempt from this law. For businesses outside of California, please check with the agency that regulates this industry.

Our experience with similar offers is that they advertise various credit services which they claim are designed to provide assistance to consumers with poor credit histories to improve their rating by removing negative items or creating a new credit file.

However, clients of these types of offers generally complain that their credit histories do not improve, that they are unable to contact the company making the offer, and ultimately that refunds for failing to provide the promised services are not provided.

By law, information stays on your credit report for seven to 10 years. Accurate negative information can only be removed by with cooperation of your creditors, and this usually involves paying all or some of the debt. If you believe your credit report contains erroneous information, you may dispute the entry by calling or writing the the credit reporting agency. While in dispute, the negative item may be removed temporarily from your report, however it will be added on again if determined to be valid.

According to California Law, it is unlawful for any entity offering to improve or repair your credit to charge fees in advance of performing those services, even if properly registred and bonded with the California Attorney General's Office.