06/25/2013
From the mouth of our Branch Manager - please read and take note, especially if you're about to buy!!!
OK! It is time to get on my podium for a minute and RANT! Bait and Switch Mortgage Rates drive me insane! I saw an ad on TV in my office this morning advertising a ridiculous low rate like what is flashing on the internet and in the local paper. The "Small Print", which I had to freeze to be able to read it, stated this incredible rate was for 15 years, had to have a debt ratio of less than 30% (On a 15 year loan?) and the loan could include up to 3% in origination points PLUS "normal closing costs"! (Any Lender can do these loans but won't if they are legitimate!) This is the most ridiculous and unethical way to advertise rates yet home buyers fall for it all the time! Our local Realtor's are constantly trying to help their clients to "listen" and use legitimate Lenders like ourselves and others that have great reputations in our industry but customers "think" they will save a dime. In reality, buyers end up costing themselves a TON of money, time, and for sure a lot of frustration! The mortgage process is stressful enough when you deal locally with a legitimate Lender that has LOCAL SUPPORT and you can sit in their local office and talk. When you add the complexity of dealing with a Lender you will never meet or see, or you deal with someone who has their processing in India or the Philippines (Some major banks that received TARP bailouts actually now process their loans overseas!), you lose the commitment of locally employed Lenders who are committed to be here for you for years to come! I do not understand someone wanting to risk their largest investment to someone on the phone in Detroit or Cleveland or Phoenix and "TRUST THEM" with the single largest transaction of their life over an ad in the paper or the internet?? Yeah! That seems like a real good move....NOT!
