There are many legitimate lenders who specialize in providing mortgages to people with poor credit. However, there are some whose mission in life is to take advantage of people who are having a hard time financially. They design loan contracts with stiff late penalties, unreasonable fees, and terms so difficult that the mortgagee is doomed to fail from the beginning. Lenders’ purpose in extending mortgage loans is not to earn money by charging fees and interest, but, to ultimately, take your home away from you. To accomplish this, they create a situation that is designed to cause you to default.

They may claim to be motivated by a humanitarian desire to provide housing. They may claim to operate by religious principles. Don’t be fooled. Those types of claims are meaningless. The only thing that matters is what’s in the contract. Read it carefully, before you pass it along to someone else, preferably a lawyer or financial professional, for them to read it, as well.

And then the same goes with credit repair agencies and credit counseling services. For the most part, these services can’t do anything that you couldn’t do yourself. Some may charge unreasonable fees, and fraudulent credit counseling services have been known to hold on to your payments to them, and pay the bills they are managing on your behalf late.

Unscrupulous lenders target homeowners in poor neighborhoods, the elderly, and the most vulnerable, sometimes working with contractors who pressure you to sign a contract for services that you may not have thoroughly read, or may have blank spaces. Never do it! Later on, you may find that you have signed an agreement with an unreasonably high interest rate or excessive fees that you cannot afford.