Mortgage and Refinance Letters that Get Me Mad!

Having a mortgage on a house is a quick way to generate a remarkable number of different companies sending letters offering to refinance the balance of the mortgage. Some of them are embarassingly lame, with poorly printed letters tucked into envelopes hand addressed without return addresses. Those aren't too bad, because it's at least obvious that it's a solicitation and can be easily discarded.

But every so often a letter arrives that's just upsetting, and that's what happened this weekend when we received the following letter from PSI Financial Corporation of Denver, Colorado:

our names and address

Customer ID: # 70-1N-18-3-31-005-4043203 2nd Notice

Based on your original loan amount of $xx and your closing date of x/x/xx, your current loan should be transferred to the following portfolio ARM. NOTE: take advantage of the RECENT drop in CountryW and WM's ARM margins and effective APR (4.09%).

Recommended Portfolio ARM Product
We strongly recommend you to transfer your current loan (listed above) to the WM's or Countrywid [sic] Portfolio ARM. The rate/APR will decrease to 4.09%. Your 1st year savings will be over $602/mo or $7224/yr.

continues with various "analysis" of monthly payments, which of course increase each year because it's an adjustable rate mortgage instrument.

Please call for details,
James G. Park

The letter continues, but what bothers me about this method of solicitation is that they try to deliberately scare the recipient and present their come-on as if it were coming from your own bank, or endorsed by your bank. The "2nd Notice" is particularly galling since the generic envelope also had "Second Notice" prominently displayed too.

I don't have a problem with independent mortgage resellers trying to sell me on a particular mortgage instrument, but I really do have a problem with them packaging and presenting their pitch as if it were legit, legal or otherwise important. It's not.

Mr. Park, I strongly suggest that you reconsider your approach. You just might find that you make more sales and have less angry phone calls.