Georgia widow’s family says she’s being evicted by company that didn’t pay for her home — now she’s hospitalized over the stress. How’d this happen?

“She was balled up in a ball on my couch going, ‘They just got all of my equity,’” Gravitt’s daughter-in-law, Destiny Gravitt-Waters, told reporter Justin Gray. When asked what Gravitt received in exchange for her house, Gravitt-Waters didn’t mince words.

“Nothing. No money. Nothing.”

A ‘rescue’ gone wrong

Gravitt reached out to Homesaver 911 in 2024 seeking help as she hoped to avoid foreclosure. As part of the rescue deal, Gravitt signed over a warranty deed — a legal document transferring ownership of Gravitt’s property — to Homesaver 911.

The company told WSB-TV that this transfer is meant to be temporary and ownership is given back to clients once the loan is paid back. However, in this instance, the deed seems to have been transferred to another company called Georgia Venture Investment Company.

This company then took Gravitt to court in 2024, claiming she agreed to sell her property for $150,000 in 2023 but failed to follow through with the deal. A Fulton County judge sided with Georgia Venture Investment Company in a default judgement and ruled she must sell the home to the company “upon plaintiff’s payment of the purchase price and other monies required by the contract [2].”

Although Gray couldn’t find any documentation to prove the sale or a transfer of money, an attorney for Georgia Venture Investment Company emailed a statement to Gray.

“Georgia Venture has tendered the money to Ms. Gravitt many times, but she refuses to accept it. She or her attorney may obtain the money at any time,” reads the statement. But the Gravitts say that is not true at all.

Unfortunately, Gravitt’s case isn’t unique. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) had previously issued a warning about foreclosure scams that often target vulnerable older Americans [3].

Foreclosure scams on the rise

According to the FDIC, there’s been a recent increase in companies or individuals claiming to be “foreclosure rescue agencies” or “mortgage consultants.” These opportunistic scammers tend to prey on homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage and could be at risk of foreclosure.

The scam involves a “temporary” transfer of the home deed, which eventually leads to the victim losing control of their property.

In 2024, the Federal Trade Commission reported 34,304 cases involving mortgage or debt relief fraud, which makes it the 10th most common form of financial fraud in the country. Victims of these scams lost $82.9 million in aggregate last year [4].

How to protect yourself

If you’re financially vulnerable and struggling to manage your mortgage, you may be a prime target for a foreclosure scam. To protect yourself, the State of California Department of Justice offers some advice [5]:

• Keep an eye on potential red flags: Avoid any consultant or agency that demands an upfront fee or pushes transferring legal documentation like the deed or title to your home, even if they claim the transfer is “temporary”
• Communicate with your lender first: Reach out directly to your bank or mortgage provider to see if they can offer a more flexible solution to help you. Don’t ignore any letters or emails received from the bank. Responding on time and openly communicating with your lender could be your best option to save your home
• If you need third-party advice, reach out to a housing counselor approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

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