Will the lying ever stop? This week I heard another deceptive ad aimed at home owners refinancing. It aired on KIXI Radio in Seattle., but might have been broadcast in other cities, also.
The ad said when you refinance with their company, you “may even get to skip a payment or two.” That is false! Furthermore, it is illegal to state “skip a payment” as a benefit of refinancing, because you do not actually skip a payment, ever.
It can seem like you are skipping a payment, because mortgage payments are made in arears, not in advance. If your refinance closes in August, your first payment will be due October 1st. Does this mean you get to live for free in your house for the month of September? No.
You don’t, in fact, skip the September payment. Your Oct 1 payment covers for September, because mortgages are paid in arears.
If your payoff included a payment due to the day of the month the loan closed, then it might seem like you are skipping two payments. YOU ARE NOT.
You made one payment in the payoff via the closing. You make the next payment after the month is passed. You do not actually get to live in your house free for one month or two months when you refinance. That is deceptive and a violation of mortgage lending law.
I could not locate a phone number on the offending mortgage company’s website, so I sent in an email. At this point, I have received no reply. If I had been inquiring about getting a loan, someone would have replied quickly. Should I report their illegal ad to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau? What do you think?
I believe I should. After all, I didn’t write Mortgage Ripoffs and Money Savers for nothing.