Congratulate Me! I Have Earned a Preferred Customer Home Equity Rate

It's true.  I can:

	Apply in seconds
	Get a decision in minutes
	Have your paperwork sent to you the next business day
	Close your loan in 10 days or less

I got the email a couple of days ago from my buddies at Capital One.  If these companies knew what I said about them in this blog, they would probably take me off their mailing list.  They send me their super-sweet deals and I take the time to read the small print and pass on what I find.  I don't think they expect people to read the small print.  As ZeFrank would say, "I read the small print so you don't have to."

So let's take a look at this nice email sent to me with my best interests in mind.

The first thing that I notice about it is that the small print actually takes up more space than the ad.  What this should tell you right away is that all the enticing numbers used to get you to bite all have qualifiers and that you most likely won't get the deal that's being offered.

Here's what's being offered:

Fixed rates below Prime, from 7.52%¹

Great for home improvements or debt consolidation

$0 closing cost options available

Customized loan solutions from $20,000 to $500,000

Additionally, there is a graphic, which does not want to easily paste here, that shows that loan and payment amounts of:

$50,200 has payments of $410.  $65,395 has payments of $530.  $80,271 has payments of $647.

Allll-righty then, let's look at the numbers.  In order to qualify for the 7.52% interest rate (which has a note saying they can change it at any time so we aren't lying when you call and we say that it's now 9.52%), you have to have an excellent credit score, borrow $80,000, which has an 80% loan-to-value ration, and sign up for a 20 year deal.  It doesn't say it here but they might as well put in the ad that you can only qualify for this low interest rate if there is absolutely no news coverage of Brangelina, the Olsen Twins, and Paris Hilton on the day that you apply.

You can only get $0 closing costs if you borrow at least $50,000.  If you sign up for a 20 year plan at 7.52% (yeah right, I'm sure Brangelina will be mentioned), you will be paying around $46,000 in interest.  If you make that deal, they won't charge you an origination fee saving you at least a hundred bucks.  Their generosity never ends, does it?

Now, about the loan amounts used as an example.  You might notice that the loan amounts get very large but the payments don't go up that much.  If you read the small print, you find out why.  In the first example, they use an interest rate of 7.69%.  The second loan as an interest rate of 7.58%.  The last one has the coveted interest rate of 7.52%.  Perfectly honest example as long as you superscript it.  Ethical?  No.

Let me tell you the best part of the ad for me:

Capital One customers say:²

"It is so refreshing to deal with a true professional. You really take all the guess work and anxieties out....That's why we did business with you twice."

"After explaining all our options, our Home Loan Consultant helped us lower our monthly payment, plus we even received money back!"

Notice the little number 2 at the top.  What does that mean?  In checking, what it says is that no one actually said this.  This statement is something that they made up based off of customer feedback.  I am not making that up.  This is an "illustration".

²Statements are illustrations based on customer feedback.

That's crazy!  They can say anything they want and say that it's kind of like what people are telling them.

"Dear Captial One,

Thanks for your deal but I feel like I'm really getting screwed here!"

Capital One customers say:²

"Getting a Capital One loan is just like having sex."

I'm sure you all know how I qualified for this most wonderful deal on the planet.  By not using their credit card.  Long time readers also know how I'm gong to end this post.

"What's in your wallet?"

MY CASH!!!

***

I am awarding Capital One 5 Sword Points for sending me the information on their latest deception.

Comments

[CV Rick]

Last month both gf and I paid off our ghetto cards (Capital One) and I will never see their cards in my wallet or their bills in my mailbox, again.

[Success Warrior]

You guys could be missing out on earning your preferred customer home equity rate. How will you get by?

[CV Rick]

It'll be hard, but we'll persevere.

[Success Warrior]

You can always change your mind after you own a home. =)

[Cynthia Bagley]

Funny...

[Success Warrior]

Funny as long as you don't think about all the people signing up for the refi.

[Lee Matthews - Financial Concepts West]

A HELOC interest rate is unimportant when uou use the HELOC to accelerate the equity in your home. (For a similar example, if you have a 19% interest rate on a credit card and you payoff the card in full each month, how much interest on the 'loan' are you paying? Zero.)

If you are a homeowner and are offered a HELOC -- take it! Here's why:

Today’s Real Estate market means that folks can no longer count on appreciation to build home equity. Those who realize that they need to pay down their current mortgage debt are looking for alternate ways to aggressively (yet safely) build equity.

And they've discovered a perfect online system to do that; they can focus on their wealth accumulation goals while accelerating their equity simply by using a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) to ‘power’ the Money Merge Account™ financial solutions program.

A typical 30 year loan (of whatever type) can be paid down in 1/3 to 1/2 the time — it's a great way to save *huge* amounts of income by eliminating a mortgage amortization front-end interest load. (On a million-plus dollar home, I've personally seen where the Money Merge Account™ program will save the homeowner $750,000 in interest charges!)

And the best thing – homeowners don’t have to refinance their existing mortgage or, in most cases, make adjustments to their lifestyle.

I’d be happy to provide further details…