THE

CENTER FOR LITIGATION &

CONSUMER REAL ESTATE EDUCATION

C.L.C.R.E.E.

The Center for Litigation and Consumer Real Estate Education (CLCREE) is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that provides educational services and guidance to alleged victims of predatory lending and consumer real estate issues. 

We are not a law firm and we cannot save your home from foreclosure (please read the HOW WE DO IT section on this webpage for an explanation of this matter and how we CAN help you).

We assist in real estate related consumer complaints and, when warranted, provide expert testimony and discovery assistance for possible future legal action. 

We are not a law firm, but will, however, work in conjunction with attorneys who are interested in assisting the public in matters of real estate.  We have formed an alliance with the San Bernardino County Bar Association and look forward to expanding our alliance with other legal organizations to assist the public. 

We organize consumer complaints and provide expert testimony and discovery assistance in the legal arena.  We gather information from the homeowner who is invited to voluntarily fill out our LEGAL ASSISTANCE form for more in-depth analysis of their possible predatory lending and mortgage situation.  Through the gathering of this information we determine if the homeowner is the possible victim of predatory lending.

At the present time, we serve the State of California, however, as interest, funding, and resources permit, we plan to offer these services nationwide.  Whether you live in the State of California or elsewhere in the U.S.A. and you feel you are a victim of predatory lending or other mortgage issues, we invite you to fill out our secured LEGAL ASSISTANCE form.  The more interest that is generated nationwide, the more grants and funding we can request to help you.

One of the primary services we offer is expert testimony in Small Claims Court to assist the homeowner in getting their loan modification fees returned to them in cases of inaction (or little action) on the part of loan modification companies.  We ask you to see the Small Claims Court section of our website for more information on this inexpensive program.

In California, we cannot save your home from foreclosure.  Here’s why: In California, and other non-judicial foreclosure states, if your home is in foreclosure the options to stop the sale are very limited.  Your bank or mortgage company is in control of this process and CLCREE does not have the resources to deal with this specific situation.

What does “non-judicial foreclosure state” mean? As a homebuyer, when you obtained your mortgage, you (knowingly or unknowingly) gave your bank permission to sell your home if you ever defaulted on your loan.  After the bank has gone through the process to notify you, the foreclosure procedure begins.  There is a pre-foreclosure period which is 90 days, and if your bank or lender does not receive any mortgage payments after that time, in another 30 more days they officially notify you of foreclosure. 

In these non-judicial foreclosure states, the bank does not need to ask the court’s permission to foreclosure on your home or to sell your home to another buyer when you defaulted.

If you do need the services of an organization to save your home, we recommend:  (1) CLCREE’s DO-IT-YOURSELF LOAN MODIFICATION, or; (2)  contact:  The Federal Program: MAKING HOME AFFORDABLE.   Be aware of similar sounding websites and programs that are not government programs (there are many).  If you need URGENT assistance, call:  888-995-HOPE.

We invite Attorney General offices in each district and state, as wells as Bar Associations to contact CLCREE and explore the development of consumer protection and educational programs in your area.

In the educational arm of our organization, we provide the public with easy-to-understand educational seminars on all issues of real estate to assist in building a society of informed homebuyers, homeowners, and tenants.

In addition, we will offer attorneys and paralegals California State Bar approved continuing education courses with an emphasis on mortgage and real estate issues to arm the legal community with tools on how to focus on predatory lending practices.  We also provide mentoring for law students interested in mortgage investigational techniques.

Also, we provide a nonpartisan forum for open dialogue with state and local governments to arm their constituents with techniques to provide a fair “playing field” when investing in real estate and dealing in real estate matters.

Due to recent media coverage, our staff has been overwhelmed, but that doesn’t mean we are too busy to help you.  In fact, it is our mission to help you.

We invite you to look around our website.  If you feel you have been “scammed” by a mortgage modification company, we invite you to read our Small Claims Court section.  If you feel you may qualify for this assistance, please go to the Legal Assistance section and fill out as much as you can of this form.  We realize this secure form asks for some very detailed information.  The more information you can provide, the stronger the case we can build for you. 

If you lost more than $7,500 in a loan modification scam (the legal limit you can fight for in the California Small Claims Court system), we ask you to “stay tuned,” as we are working on other legal remedies for you. 

Again, due to demand, we will definitely get back to you within 3-5 days.  We remind you to start with the Legal Assistance form.  If you have any questions, we invite them via email (for the most rapid response) or by calling 909-584-8820.

If you live outside of the State of California, we ask you to “stay tuned” as well, as it is our plan to offer our services nationwide.

The terms non-profit and 501 (c) (3) are two designations often used to describe an organization that carries on charitable activities, but the two terms have some very distinct differences.  The terms should not be used interchangeably.

At the present time, we have filed, and received designation as a non-profit through the California Secretary of State.  We have filed with the Internal Revenue Service to receive a 501 (c) (3) organization as a “public benefit corporation.”  We are awaiting their decision (which takes several weeks) and will post this designation when it is received.  What this means is, any donation we receive is NOT tax deductible, on your taxes, until the CLCREE receives this 501 (c) (3) designation.  

A non-profit corporation is NOT automatically exempt from federal or state taxes. To become exempt, it must meet certain requirements and apply with the IRS.

Non-profit corporation means no part of our income is distributed to our board members, volunteers, directors, or officers.  All income, donations, grants, etc. that CLCREE receives will be spent on the activities in assisting the public. 

A non-profit is created by filing a certificate of formation with the Secretary of State in the state you operate.  The CLCREE operates in the State of California.  As resources and funding permit we plan on expanding our services nationwide.

Copyright © 2009-2010 CLCREE. All rights reserved.

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