I have some interesting things to share with you, and I'm not going to provide much commentary. Everything will speak for itself and be reckoned in the minds of this audience.
Let me begin by introducing the protagonist, American Foreclosure Specialists, based in Owasso, Okla. (Forgive the ugliness, but all quoted material and message-board entries are original and unedited.)
This is the company's statement of purpose: ‘To glorify God by being a good and faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us by our clients and to be a positive influence on everyone in which we come into contact with.’
This is the company's statement of belief: ‘We believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that the Bible is the inspired word of God.’
On American Foreclosure Specialists' Web site, www.afscanhelp.com, the preceding statements are immediately followed by: ‘Our vision is to not only help stop foreclosure on your home but to treat each and every person with a sense of calmness, trust and most of all integrity. Our customers and clients have a much larger meaning to us than just their business.’
There are tens of millions of Christians in the U.S. I want to believe that this company does, in fact, have benign motivations – even if money is part of the motivation. But imagine if American Foreclosure Specialists' motivations are malevolent?
A big portion of the company's Web site is dedicated to a message board, where visitors chime in with their comments. The following is a sampling of what these visitors are saying:
- We do not have the $6,669 that it takes to reinstate our loan.
- I have received a notice of sheriff sale for July 11, 2008. I have tried to talk to my mortgage company but they want like 3000 up front and then so much extra a month.
- Hope Now should be called No Hope Now.
- Now, I am choosing between prescriptions to keep my husband alive and well and paying the mortgage and utilities.
- Someone told us that we could short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure.
- They promised to help but nothing is been done.
- I just began a new job in January of this year and one threat of foreclosure was made then I had a heart attack.
- My bankruptcy is complete, where can I turn, maybe you can advise me.
- We believe terms of loan were changed when he delayed our closing by a day.
- We got trapped into a subprime arm.
- My goal is to simply unload the house.
