You will soon feel quite popular if you’ve just bought a home or at least your mail box will be with tons of junk mail.  Over the weekend I received an email from one of my clients who closed on their new home last month:

“As I’m sure is typical, we’re being deluged with mortgage junk mail.  I see you have several highlights of particularly bad ones you’ve seen, but is there any way to stop the flood?  I know there’s a marker you can put on your credit report that stops credit card offers – is there anything similar for mortgages?”

[Read more…]

Here’s a new one for you from the Mortgage Porter Junk Mail Bag.  This gem arrived to us in a hand addressed envelope about the size of a greeting card with real postage stamps but no return address.  What a personal touch.

But wait…there’s more!  When you open the envelope it appears as though someone has cared enough about you to send you a newspaper article and there is a written sticky note that says: [Read more…]

How about something that looks like one?   This arrived the other day to our home in a gold envelope looking very much like an income tax refund.   Per Washington State law, this form of advertising from a mortgage company is illegal.

That’s just the beginning of what is wrong with this advertisement.   This company appears to be offering to refinance our current mortgage plus give us $44,000.35 (don’t forget that 35 cents) cash in hand at the low rate of 2.20% (obviously a negative amortized/deferred interest ARM)!   The ad shows two asterisks next to the rate… on the bottom of the flier, there is an * in very fine print disclosing an “APR of 6.90% 30 year loan interest rate may increase after consummation”.    Duh…ya think?  The fine print also shows this lender is licensed in California, not Washington, to provide mortgages.

My point is, whenever a mortgage company has to resort to “cold marketing”… whether that be phone calling or deceitful pieces of mail aimed to look like something other than what it is (such as your IRS refund), they are not worth trusting your largest asset (your home) and debt (your mortgage) with.

I always advise getting a referral from someone you trust.   Do your own homework.  If it seems too good to be true, it is.