Read the FINE PRINT.Originally Posted by 2turbo4u
There are always bullets (*) in every single one of those ads. It is illegal in the state of GA to advertise a payment w/o additional information, so it's got to be in there somewhere. It can be a mm tall, but it's got to be. As a matter of fact, we have to include not just the raw interest rate in there, but also the APR interest rate which is always different (unless you pay no out of pocket expenses at all) than the note rate.
Most of the time they post the "payment" part really big up top, only to tell you down below that the "payment" only applies to a $100k loan w/20% down on a short term variable interest or even interest only payment which does NOT include escrow payments. It's the same misleading advertising that car dealerships use. Is it mathematically possible, sure. Is it realistic, hell no.
Ads like these are the ones that allow numb nuts like the author above to have some fuel to their fire. This is why I loathe those idiots on the radio all the time talking about "don't pay closing costs....we make enough money over the life of the loan.....refinance over and over again.....biggest no brainer.....all those other guys are predators....." Those asses are the biggest scammers there are. Totally misleading information in order to keep his phone ringing. They run sweat shops instead of real mortgage companies. They have a call center that answers these phone calls from these ads only to pick the creme de la creme to try and get a loan for. It's a numbers game to them. If the phone rings 1000 times a day, they figure to get atleast a handful of loan aps out of it. Great service there, huh?
Enough of that. Point is that reality always trumps the uninformed.
Bottomline is that if it sounds too good to be true, the majority of the time it very well is. Consult with a real professional instead of people like this lady. Don't believe everything you read, without digging further and doing your own math FIRST. Ask questions. If the person you're talking to doesn't seem to KNOW what he/she is talking about, don't deal with them.
There is no magic bullet when it comes to buying a house. It can be painless. It can be exciting and great. It can also be a nightmare IF you use the wrong people or follow the wrong advice. Be realistic and understand that unlike renting where you OWN nothing, owning your own home will have inherent costs. Do the benefits outweigh those costs? That's the real question. Everything in this life has a COST. Remember that. If you get MORE out of it than it cost you, it's a deal. Pretty simple, huh?
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