A lender might offer you a home equity loan even though you (and they!) know you really can’t qualify for one. Why would they do this? Because they want your home! They will lend you the money, hoping that you cannot pay it back! Once you default on the loan, they can take your home. Remember, you pledge your home as collateral when you take out an equity loan

A lender might offer to let you refinance your home even though you just refinanced it not all that long ago. They might even offer to let you take additional cash. It sounds tempting, but you’ll have to pay closing costs again, and perhaps points, and perhaps a higher interest rate. This could add up to tens of thousands of extra dollars over the life of the loan. Be careful.

They might present you with documents at closing time that haven’t been fully or properly completed, saying that “We’ll fill it in later.” They’ll fill it in later with larger figures than the ones you have discussed, or they pad the loan with additional insurance, fees, or other “benefits” that you don’t remember requesting.

Beware of any lender who “temporarily” asks you to sign over your deed to them. Some scam artists will offer this suggestion to people with debt problems as a way of avoiding foreclosure on the home. Once you sign over the deed, the home is theirs, and they can do anything they want with it - charge you with rent, sell it, evict you, or whatever.

A contractor might show up at your door, offering to do some sort of home improvement - a new driveway, siding or a roof. They offer to provide financing. You agree, and then sign paperwork without realizing that you’ve signed a home equity agreement at some high interest rate with additional points. Then he disappears, leaving you with debt and unfinished work.

Always be sure whom you are dealing with when you take out a loan of any kind. You can always check with the local Better Business Bureau, the local Chamber of Commerce or your State’s Attorney General’s office to see if there have been any complaints against that lender. Another option would be to contact your state Attorney General’s office, who may know if any complaints have been filed against that lender. It only takes a few minutes of your time to avoid what could be up to thirty years of misery.