In a recent consumer alert, Wayne Bell, the chief counsel for the California DRE, advises "If you choose to use the real estate and/or mortgage related services of third parties for a fee(s), ask them questions, lots of questions, and then verify, verify, and still verify some more. Also, and importantly, you are wise to never pay for such services or assistance in advance of seeing results. It is extremely risky to do so, and it may be illegal for the service provider to ask you for or to collect fees in advance for some services, like loan modification, short sale, and mortgage forbearance services." "Check them out on the DRE website, at www.dre.ca.gov. Make certain that they are licensed by the State of California. If they are licensed, see if they have been disciplined. If they are lawyers, check them out on the State Bar's website, at www.calbar.ca.gov. Again, look at their disciplinary record, if one exists.Check them out through the Better Business Bureau. Check them out through a Google or related search on the Internet. You may be amazed at what you can and will find out doing such a search. Often consumers who have been scammed will post their experiences, insights, and warnings long before any criminal, civil or administrative action has been brought against the scammers." Mr. Bell goes on to point out that there is a serious question about the value of forensic loan audits. At Seven Gables, we remind our clients that it is critically important to do your due diligence - especially with notices you receive in the mail from attorneys who claim to be able to sue your lender and help make all of your promises go away. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true ... Mr. Bell suggests you ask any service provider important questions and be on the look out for fraud. We agree and stand ready to provide this information to all of our clients.Here is a link to the entire article. http://www.dre.ca.gov/pdf_docs/ca/ConsumerAlert_ProtectYourselfFromGettingRippedOff.pdf