Those whom read my blog know that I'm not the biggest fan of the Mortgage Merge Account, or what some like to call the Australian Mortgage Acceleration system. For the last few years I've had wholesale rep's from CMG wholesale and MacQuarie bank explain how some Europeans and Australians manage their mortgages. But stupid me, I didn't check into these claims and assumed that it was a fact. After all we don't live in Australia, and for all I know these are legitimate company's, so why would they be telling me a tall tail.
Now comes United First Financial, Sydney Financial and a slew of other programs that are now singing the song of mortgage acceleration. It's fresh, it's what the Europeans do! One UFF agent has told me that 1/2 of all Australians have these accounts.
Alright everyone, guess what? Yep....it's not even close to true. In fact if you take some time and look it up on Google or Yahoo, you'll soon find information that proves these debt reducer programs are actually frowned on in Australia and they are little more then HYPE!
Check out this article for a start, Mortgage Reduction Scam
These are not my words, as you can see from the article, it's the estimation of the Australian equivalent of the better business bureau. Well hold on there Mr..where are the case studies, there in the PDF link, just read them!
What's really scary is that in Australia they charge $5000 for these programs, and they are not just sold through MLM's or direct sales groups, but they're sold over the phone by telemarketing groups. Thank goodness for the Do not call list, but you can see the writing on the wall everyone.
One other thing to remember if your in the mortgage industry. Read the PDF, because it leaves no doubt that mortgage agents in general are not in on this scam. The Australian mortgage industry is intelligent enough to stay out of this mess. Unfortunately their U.S. counterparts are turning out to not be as wise. What is really telling is that this consumer group recommends that borrowers consult with trained financial professionals. In other words, they don't advise neighbors, friends, or family to sell mortgage reduction plans.
Now why didn't we think of that?
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