Rosa and Reginald Beck used to own a split-level home in Puyallup. They bought it using an adjustable rate mortgages, or ARM, a kind of loan that has been touted as a way to buy a house at ultra-low interest rates.

KING

Rosemarie Tugublimas's mother and sister-in-law say they lost $62,000 in equity to Jimmy Dainard of Reliance Residential of Kirkland, who knocked on their door, promising them he could help them avoid foreclosure.

They were popular when interest rates were low, but now the rates are being adjusted upward and it's leaving people vulnerable not just to bankruptcy, but to scam artists who promise to offer a solution to their problems.

The Becks' ARM payment went sky high just as Reginald was laid off and the two were looking for solutions.

"It went from $950 for the first mortgage all the way to about $1500 plus, just for the first mortgage alone," Reginald Beck said.

Facing foreclosure, the Becks responded to a flyer in their mailbox from a company called Pierce County Residential Credit Advisors. The company promised to buy their house, take the mortgage out of their name and lease the house back to them with an option to buy down the road.

Rosa Beck says a man named David Gintz pressured them to sign a "quit claim," a legal document that releases someone's interest in a piece of property.

"I was really upset and I didn't want to sign the paper but the guy was basically pushing us to sign the forms," Rosa Beck says.

With a stroke of a pen, the Becks lost their house and $70,000 in equity. Their mortgage wasn't paid off. They were evicted and were homeless for 15 months.

"We have children and we had to separate from our children. We couldn't take care of them and we had to send them to Florida to get taken care of because we couldn't provide for them," Rosa Beck says.

Attorney Melissa Heulsman and the Fremont Public Association are taking the Becks' case to court.

"When somebody is taking the trouble to knock on your door or send you flyers, it means they're out to get something for themselves and that should automatically put you on notice," Heulsman said.

Rosemarie Tugublimas's mother and sister-in-law say they lost $62,000 in equity to Jimmy Dainard of Reliance Residential of Kirkland, who knocked on their door, promising them he could help them avoid foreclosure.

Instead, Dainard convinced the women to sign documents basically turning their house over to him.

"Even the escrow company, they never explained anything. They just took my mom and sister-in-law. And my sister-in-law doesn't speak or understand English and my mom she's 80 years old not understanding the terminology and all that," Tugublima said.

Tugublima's mother and sister-in-law now have to pay rent to live in the same house they used to own. And if they don't pay rent, they could be evicted.

Once evicted, families can find it difficult to find housing or even a job because of their damaged credit history. Recently, Reginald Beck was close to getting a tech support job.

"They just about all but handed the job in my lap until they saw all this on my record. After that, the very job that possibly could have saved us and kept us in the house it was gone," he said.

If you're facing foreclosure, Heulsman says to ask the hard question, can you realistically keep your house?

"If it's no, you need to make the tough decision to sell it, at least get equity out of your house," she said.

To avoid falling for a foreclosure scam, never sign over your title without consulting a lawyer. Don't pay your mortgage to anyone other than the bank. If foreclosure is imminent, consider selling the house. And finally, be sure to get advice from a HUD-approved counseling agency such as Seattle's Fremont Public Association.