After reading this article homeowners should be sure not to turn over their deed without speaking with an attorney first.

New Scheme Preys on Desperate Homeowners – New York Times

this article details a foreclosure “help” scam that involves a foreclosure consultant, fake buyer, the transfer of the deed and a refinance and cash out by the fake buyer.

Ms. Johnson met with Home Savers officials and agreed to what she thought was a refinancing of her loan at a lower interest rate with more affordable monthly payments. But the Johnsons unknowingly transferred their deed to a straw buyer working with Home Savers, court documents contend.

That stand-in buyer qualified for a type of mortgage that would let him take cash out as part of the financing. He borrowed $425,000 against the house and pocketed $134,000, which included the Johnsons’ equity built up over the years.

Now the Johnsons are fighting to stay in their house and to recover their equity.