Veronika Lukasova

The case: Can a homeowner who mistakenly signed away her home get it back?

When the man rang her doorbell and offered to save her home from foreclosure in 2002, Catherine Meads, 67, of Washington was beside herself.

She had an outstanding mortgage of roughly $89,000, but she was about $9,200 in arrears on her monthly payments. The home had been in her family since her father bought it, and she desperately wanted to hold on to it.

According to a lawsuit filed by Meads, the representative of Modern Management Company, owned by Vincent Abell, offered to help her out.

After signing papers for what she thought was a loan, she realized too late that she had actually lost her home to  Abell. He made similar promises to five other homeowners facing foreclosure, according to the lawsuit. Instead they had signed away the title to their homes, which were worth between $100,000 and $300,000. Meanwhile, the outstanding mortgages remained in their names. The homeowners in most cases also had to pay monthly “rent” in addition to their regular mortgage payments.

“To pay $8,000 for a house that’s worth $300,000 was a sweet deal for Abell and his company,” says Jean Constantine-Davis, senior AARP attorney. “This is the sort of scheme that targets older people when they are most vulnerable and making decisions on the least sound basis because their backs are against the wall.” It is also a growing problem, she said.

In 2004 AARP, its Legal Counsel for the Elderly and the law firm Hogan & Hartson sued Abell, charging that he created a foreclosure rescue scam. The case was settled in 2007, and final payments were made late last year. The homeowners regained title to their homes or received damages totaling more than $455,000, Constantine-Davis says. Neither Abell nor representatives of Modern Management could be reached for comment.

What it means to you:  If you are having trouble paying your mortgage, don’t go to strangers. Seek professional advice from a financial adviser or a housing counselor. You may want to find a lawyer who specializes in predatory lending, too.

Emily Sachar is a journalist and author based in Brooklyn, N.Y.