Penny Murphy, 66, of Salt Lake City, found herself in dire straits when she was unable to meet her mortgage payments following the sudden death of her mother in 2005. Murphy contacted the Salt Lake Housing Authority for help. The agency helped her restructure her loan, which lowered her payment by half, including taxes, insurance and a smaller interest rate.

Murphy said the restructured loan should allow her to remain in her house for the next 30 years.

"I worked on this for so long, and they were the only people that were able to help me," Murphy said. "They saved my life."

Another Utah woman was not so lucky. She also requested anonymity for this article. After working 22 years for an airline at Salt Lake City International Airport, she fell victim to a scam. She inadvertently signed over the title to her home to a company that promised to help her pay off an unexpected large debt.

She said her problems started in November 2007, when she incurred a $2,300 car-repair bill for a blown transmission. She said she didn't have the cash on-hand to pay right away, so she looked in a free newspaper she picked up at a convenience store for a source of financing.

The newspaper had an advertisement for "these places that pay your mortgage for you if you are late," she said. She contacted a prospective lender and explained that she wasn't late on her mortgage but that she was in need of a loan.

She said the person on the phone said that not only could they lend her the money, she wouldn't have to make a payment for one year. Soon after, she said two young men came to her home and asked to see proof of ownership.

When she went to pick up her loan check, she said she was given documents to sign. "In my mind, I'm thinking I'm signing for the $2,300," she said. "So I kind of barely read over the papers."

She took the papers home and put them in a jar, thinking that she had a year to pay off the loan, she said. A few weeks later, she realized that she had signed papers that transferred ownership of her home to a company called Last Minute Mortgage.

Devastated, she contacted an attorney to file a fraud claim.

"I could not believe that I was so stupid," she said. "I'm so embarrassed that I trusted people, and they took advantage of me."

She eventually called Community Development Corporation after falling two months behind on her mortgage. She now is working with the agency and an attorney to try to rectify her situation. No criminal charges have been filed.

Hanson recommends that people who find themselves behind on their mortgages develop a crisis budget.

"Your home is in jeopardy. You need to do whatever you possibly can," she said. "Have a yard sale, cut off cable, get rid of everything that is not a necessity until you can get back on your feet and bring your mortgage current."

Homeowners should contact a counseling agency like hers that is approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as soon as they find themselves in difficulty, she said. The agencies offer various services, typically at no cost to the consumer.

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E-mail: jlee@desnews.com