Students from The John Marshall Law School will attend neighborhood fairs and organization meetings this summer to make presentations on protecting property and credit ratings against predatory lenders.

"Even if we cut off all predatory lending today, the affects of what has already been done will be felt for years into the future," said Prof. Michael Seng, director of the law school's Fair Housing Legal Support Center.

"Because of the housing foreclosure crisis, predatory lending is being manifested in various rescue schemes," Seng noted. "Predatory lenders prey upon those most vulnerable."

The legal support center has partnered for the past five years with the Chicago Department of Housing and several neighborhood organizations to counsel residents who are in financial trouble because they signed loans that they did not understand or that were secured through fraudulent means.

Law students who study predatory home lending law have provided free loan review assistance through the Greater Southwest Development Corp., Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago and the Resurrection Project.

"Predatory lending is reaching into every community," Seng said, "but certain neighborhoods in Chicago are especially hit because low and middle-income homeowners are struggling in an economic downturn to meet their financial obligations.

"Often times we find people trusted someone who they believed truly understood their plight. They were from the neighborhood, or they spoke the same language.

"After they've signed the papers, they find out that a predatory lender took advantage of them," Seng added. He urged homeowners to heed these warnings:

Don't respond to phone calls and solicitations that offer you financing.

If you are going to refinance your loan, get advice from a certified counselor from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or an attorney who is familiar with mortgage documents.

Don't sign paperwork if you can't read the documents because of a language barrier, or if you find that you don't understand what is written.

Never sign a document that has blanks that someone else can fill in.

Don't be forced into accepting changes to the contract at the time of your loan closing.

For additional information, contact the Fair Housing Legal Support Center at (312) 987-2397.