Misleading and certainly NOT objective

Posted January 10, 2008

Earlier I was snooping around CNN Money online to get info from Bernanke’s speech today about the Fed Reserve. While there I saw an ad from Bankrate.com, a well “respected” website that is supposed to be objective. For the fun of it, I clicked on the rate comparison for a 30 year loan (which advertised a SUPER LOW rate.) I was then prompted to provide more information about locality, loan amount and down payment. When all was said and done, that rate was nowhere to be found.. and at the bottom of the list of lenders and their “Todays’ Rates” list was this tag:

The rates above were collected by Bankrate.com on the dates specified. Rates are subject to change without notice and may vary from branch to branch. Rate/APR and terms may vary based on the creditworthiness of the individual and the extent to which the loan differs from the one used for Bankrate.com quotes. For criteria used in surveys of rates above, click here. For an explanation of abbreviations used in the column headers, click here. For an explanation of mortgage terms, click here. These quotes are from banks, thrifts, and brokers, some of whom have paid for a link to their own Web site, where you can find additional information.

Did you notice that? Look again:

These quotes are from banks, thrifts, and brokers, some of whom have paid for a link to their own Web site, where you can find additional information.

I have 2 problems here.

First, advertising rates without a disclaimer as to how they came up with that rate is a violation of Fed ad laws. The original site (CNN Money) did not post all these disclaimers; it was simply an ad to another part of the site. Now, they get away with this because BankRate.com is not a lender, just simply an ad medium for lenders. They are not required to provide real rates and how they arrived at those rates.

Second, how objective is this? Really? When you acknowledge in the “fine print” that some (in other words ALL) of these lenders have paid to be here? Pretty obvious that the information is another way for unscrupulous lenders to provide misleading rate quotes to get the phone ringing.

Folks, I do not advertise rates. Why? Because if I am going to advertise something, I am going to do it in an educational and honest way. And by doing that, the rates I post will seem higher than that of the general lender’s advertising ploys and while I usually beat most national lenders in comparisons of rates, the false perception can prevent some from contacting me. Instead, I take the time to discover your needs, your desires and your circumstances and work with you to develop what will be the best approach to financing for YOU!

Discover the difference… after all, we are here for you “when time and money really matter.”

Ed Nailor

Category Posted in Buying a Home, Commentary, Credit Tips, Mortgages