Online mapping just keeps getting better and better. PolicyMap.com is my latest favorite: It maps public data about the economy in a convenient, customizable, zoomable format. Wondering where housing prices are low and jobs are plentiful? PolicyMap.com will tell you. Free registration required.

PolicyMap.com is one of many useful information sources in our Resources section.

Lisa Doll Bruno's review of "Save My Home" summarizes the book nicely and is generally positive. She says:

He also offers empathy and provides a positive spin without coming off phony or gushy.

And:

If nothing else, learning how to spot a scam artist could be worth the price of the book.

However, she takes me to task for recommending that people with bad handwriting buy a labelmaker, which strikes her as a "waste of money." (I paid about $20 for mine.) If that's the biggest bone she has to pick with me, I'm satisfied. :)

My first radio interview about the book will be tomorrow (Tuesday) morning at 8:30am on WGUF, 98.9 FM in Naples, Florida. Yes, that's 8:30 Eastern Time; I'll be up at 5am. The things we do!

I've also added a calendar for such things. I might post non-SMH events of interest there as well, so check back from time to time.

Readers of Save My Home probably got the impression that I don't think much of "foreclosure rescue consultants" (FRC) who advertise on the Internet and charge for their services.

That's mostly true. But since every field includes decent, honest, hard-working professionals, I feel it's necessary to explain why I'm so down on the group as a whole. In most cases:

• They're underqualified. With rare exceptions, FRC's aren't lawyers, tax experts, certified financial planners, or even real-estate agents. "A little learning is a dangerous thing", and you could find yourself with a massive tax bill a year after your "rescue".
  
  

• They're overpriced. Generally speaking, their services are available for free from such organizations as are listed on our Resources page.
  
  
• They have no accountability. Lose your home? End up paying massive penalties because of their bad advice? Too bad, so sad. Worse yet, some recommend "solutions" that are illegal, while others are merely fronts for scammers or lowball investors. How can you tell the good ones from the bad?
  
  
• You're better off doing it all yourself. Sure, it's nice to have an "expert" telling you what's best. But since the field has no real standards or credentialing process, it's unclear that the "expert" knows any more than you. Further, the people you'll be negotiating with -- lenders, courts, and so forth -- want to talk with you. For some things they can only talk to you, not your "expert."
  
  
• Their profit comes before your salvation.. There's a reason they're called for-profit companies. Non-profits aren't necessarily sparkling clean in this regard -- many a non-profit executive has been found guilty of inflated salaries and bonuses. But non-profits have to make their books available for public inspection; for-profit companies can more easily rip you off without fear.

So my recommendation: rely on resources that have been vetted by HUD or the U.S. Dept. of Justice. And tell us your experiences with such consultants here.

One of the most straightforward ways to avoid foreclosure is to sell your home. Every home seller wants to maximize profits, of course, but those in foreclosure particularly need sale proceeds to be high enough to cover their loans. The question is: Will you get more money if you use an agent, or if you sell it yourself?

If you've never sold a home before, you may be surprised to find that "costs of sale" typically take up about 8% of the home's value. The biggest chunk goes to the two agents involved, each of whom typically get 2-3% of the sale price. On a $200,000 home, that's $8,000-$12,000 you don't get! On the other hand, some say that an agent will help you get a higher selling price for your home, adding to your purse as well as covering their fees. So should you use an agent?

In short, your decision should refer to Essential Truth #4: Benefits should always outweigh costs. So the question becomes: How much will you save by not using an agent? Will agents be able to fetch enough of a higher price to cover their cost? Here's how to make that decision:

• You're almost certainly going to have to pay for a buyer's agent anyway. If you sell your home in the traditional way -- that is, by advertising it in the MLS -- virtually all buyers will arrive with a buyer's agent who expects to get paid 2-3%. In most places, that cost is paid by the seller -- that is, you. If you won't pay it, the buyer is likely to reduce the offering price by the amount needed to cover it.
  
  

• Experienced investors don't need agents, but they'll expect to pay much less than homebuyers. Very few homebuyers feel comfortable completing the transaction without an agent. They know they're not experts in the many things an agent will help them with -- inspections, paperwork, loans, legal requirements, and so on. Experienced investors, on the other hand, will be happy to work without an agent, saving you that 2-3%. However, investors are "wholesale" buyers, expecting to pay at least 10% less than "market value", wiping out the agent savings several times over.
  
  
• Will an agent get a higher price? There's no way to know. While the National Association of Realtors frequently crows that their members are able to get homesellers more money, the only way to know that is to sell the same home, at the same time, two different ways -- an impossibility. And some agents quite frankly aren't worth their commission.

Chapter 8 of Save My Home provides more guidance on selling your home both with and without an agent. Add your own tips in this discussion forum.

You may have read about the "Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008," which recently passed the Senate with an 84-12 vote. The bill's provisions will cost an estimated $21 billion dollars over the next 10 years, of which the lion's share -- $15 billion -- would go to giving $7,000 tax credits to people who buy properties in or near foreclosure.

If you can explain how this will prevent a single foreclosure, you're a lot smarter than I am. And if you believe it will, but can't explain how, you're a lot stupider.

As many commentators (including a New York Times editorial) have pointed out, this plan will increase foreclosures, as those who hold mortgage notes will more easily find a buyer for the homes they repossess. On the other hand, people who aren't in foreclosure will have a harder time selling their homes, as they effectively end up costing $7,000 more. It's completely upside-down!

Investors also benefit from this law. "But wait," some say. "Buyers have to occupy the homes to get their $7,000 tax credit! That will stop speculators from driving up prices and further ruining homeowners' chances to own again." Oh, I say, you doubt the rapacious cleverness of those driven by greed. I've already run into one online discussion about how to cheat the system, and I'll bet my left arm similar discussions are happening in investment circles around the world.

The law also sets aside $200 million dollars (improperly cited as $200 billion in some places, including the bill's text) for "pre-foreclosure counseling," which will be of help -- especially if it's used to bolster existing free programs, as are described in Chapter 5, "Call for Help". But on the whole, this one's a stinker. It harms those who need help the most, while helping those who need it the least.

What do you think? Post your comments here.

Chapter 5 of Save My Home recommends places to call for free or low-cost help, just as Chapter 4 warns you away from many "foreclosure consultants" who charge for the same help and information. And on this site's Resources page, I recommend the nonprofit site foreclosurehelpandhope.org, whose counselors are available by phone at 888-995-HOPE.

But a story in yesterday's NY Times suggests that (a) the organization has conflicting interests, and (b) it's understaffed, forcing callers to stay on hold for as much as 50 minutes.

I won't comment yet on the first assertion: while the evidence is compelling, the jury's still out. (And to be quite honest, I'm reluctant to pull my recommendation from one of the few free resources out there unless there's clear malfeasance.)

But the second claim -- that the group is overburdened -- is just as serious. If that's true, the problem's only going to get worse as more people learn about the group's free help (such as, ahem, through this Web site). And if the foreclosure rate continues to go up... well, waits will get even longer.

One thing's for sure: The organization's off to a stumbling start. First, our illustrious President misstated the group's phone number in its launch announcement. Second, three (or more?) competing groups (or at least, Web sites) seem to share that number: hopenow.com, foreclosurehelpandhope.org, and 995hope.org. I've written to all three to ask them to clarify their relationship, and will report back here.

In the meantime? Read my book (of course!) and try to help each other out in the forums. And if you do call any of those groups, please let us know how it goes by posting in this thread.

If you're threatened by foreclosure, the need to keep communications clear is greater than ever. You'll have to juggle several possible options -- sale, deed-in-lieu, refinancing, loan modification, government assistance -- each of which involves stacks of paper. If you're the sort of person who puts everything into one big pile, or (worse) just throws away mail unopened, it's time to change. Setting up a paperwork strategy isn't hard, and it can be done in stages.

You can buy some of the things you need for an effective paper-management system here, and Chapter 2 of "Save My Home" tells you how to use them. But here are some practical steps for digging yourself out from under the pile right now.

• PFB: Paperclips, Folders, Boxes.. There's a joke: "If you had everything in the world, where would you put it?" A (properly labeled!) filing system creates roads on which your process can flow; lack of one is like a hundred people trying to drive to various places through a grassy field at the same time. Don't worry if you get the categories wrong at first: Any system is better than none.
  
  

• Segregate your stuff. If you're like most people, your "pile" contains everything from store coupons to magazines to mortgage documents. Not everything will go into your filing system; the things that won't should go, well, elsewhere. If it's not terribly important or time-sensitive, it can stay in the stack.
  
  
• Throw it away. Every extra piece of paper distracts from the important ones. Get rid of empty envelopes (in favor of paperclips or staples), offers you're not going to accept, and so forth. (By the way, I strongly recommend getting a paper shredder and shredding anything that's been personalized for you, from magazine subscription forms to mortgage applications. A prankster or criminal can cause you a lot of damage by pulling these out of your trash and filling them out. It does happen.)
  
  
• Stop beating yourself up. O.K., so you let things get to be a mess. So what? Every second you make a decision whether to let them stay that way, and there are lots more seconds on their way to fix it. Leave the past behind and get started.
  
  
• Get help if you need it. It can be hard to throw stuff away, even if you know you need to. You might say, "but I'm going to fill out that graduate school application eventually," even though it's been sitting there for months. Whatever it is, you can probably get another one; if so, admit (temporary) defeat and move on.
  
  
• Learn how long you take to do things. When you first start reorganizing, promise yourself you'll just work on it for a half hour. That's not long, is it? But I bet you'll see an improvement -- and that'll encourage you to take another half hour soon.

Have you found ways that work for you? Comment here.