Mortgage Insights Blog

Keep an eye out for a new "foreclosure assistance" scheme that has surfaced in the region!

Some homeowners have been contacted by a company called United First, Inc. that claims to offer a deal to prevent their homes from going into foreclosure. We have received confirmation from the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office that this is a scam.

According to the contract with United First, the homeowner pays an initial fee and then a monthly fee to the company, and adds United First to the homeowner's insurance policy.

The homeowner is required to retain Sherman Oaks attorney Mitchell Roth as legal counsel to file a "missing title" lawsuit, based on the claim that the foreclosing bank doesn't really own title to the home. In the unlikely events that the bank cut a deal with the homeowner or somehow the lawsuit won outright, United First would keep half or 80 percent of the profit. There are NO guarantees that this process will work.

United First is a shell company recently registered in Nevada. Its president, secretary, treasurer and director, Paul H. Noe, was convicted in 2003 of five felony counts of aiding and abetting wire fraud among other charges.

An SCCAOR member brought this issue to the attention of the Professional Standards Department, which then contacted the DA's Office.

SCCAOR stays vigilant on protecting the rights of consumers and we urge you to spread the word about this scheme among your colleagues and clients.

For information on Paul H. Noe's past conviction:
Click Here

For an article at sfweekly.com on the United First scam:
Click Here

This message brought to you by the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors.