The Georgia Code states:

7-1-1016.
In addition to such other rules, regulations, and policies as the department may promulgate to effectuate the purpose of this article, the department shall prescribe regulations governing the advertising of mortgage loans, including without limitation the following requirements:
(1) Advertisements for loans regulated under this article may not be false, misleading, or deceptive. No person whose activities are regulated under this article may advertise in any manner so as to indicate or imply that its interest rates or charges for loans are in any way 'recommended,' 'approved,' 'set,' or 'established' by the state or this article;
(2) All advertisements disseminated in this state by a licensee or a registrant shall contain the name, license number, and an office address of such licensee or registrant, which shall conform to a name and address on record with the department; and
(3) No licensee shall advertise its services in Georgia in any media disseminated in this state, whether print or electronic, without the words 'Georgia Residential Mortgage Licensee' or, for those advertisers licensed in more than one state, a listing of Georgia as a state in which the advertiser is licensed. 

You and I, most insiders, know there is no such thing as a free loan. The only person who pays your closing costs is you. There is not one bank, lender or broker who can truly demonstrate they pay your closing costs for you. One obnoxious little prick has made millions convincing feeble minded people that's exactly what he does when the majority of AR readers know it's not even close to the truth.

Countrywide tried it for a minute and from my understanding the Feds got into it and CW stopped - or maybe it was when BofA started taking the reigns ... either way I haven't seen the No Closing Costs adverts lately.

But there is one particularly rude and obnoxious advertiser who has been advertising in almost every state for a few years and calling every other broker/lender every name in the book. I can't imagine why that little pipsquek never shows up at any lender functions ... hmmm. But I digress.

Keep the Georgia code number from the opening paragraph in mind and then view the following image:

Now I don't know the exact reason for this C&D order but I do know claiming to pay closing costs and not charge the client for them is misleading at best. Essentially the commentary here is my business practice: Honest, Open, Transparent, and High Integrity.

THERE ARE CLOSING COSTS AND YOU PAY THEM

They may be taken from the YIELD SPREAD. They may be taken from the SERVICE or RELEASE PREMIUM but NOBODY does loans for free.

Funny how a couple of years ago I heard this particular BROKER advertising that he, unlike any other broker, lender or bank all of who are smell green sewer scum pays your closing costs for you and it doesn't cost you one thin dime. He claimed they don't "roll it into the loan". Well, the only truth is that he pays it out of the commission he makes on your loan. Anyone can do it - we do but we don't mislead you and tell you exactly how it is accomplished. The real kicker is that immediately following his ads a couple of years ago he was advertising for help offering positions for as much as $300,000 per year. Hmmmm, hard to not make any profit and still have employees making $300k per year.

Well, what goes around comes around.

It's no secret that I think he's a bung faced roach and one of the biggest detriments to our industry still operational. But that's my opinion - he still gets a bigger number of applications and is much more successful than I measured on the dollar volume scale. 

THE OPINIONS IN THIS COMMENTARY ARE STRICTLY KEN COOK's PERSONAL OPINION AND NOT REFLECTIVE ON ACTIVE RAIN, NOVATION MORTGAGE, or ANY SPONSOR OF THIS WEBSITE. 

EDUCATION BEATS LEGISLATION EVERY TIME. Get your clients, friends and family members to a LENDER RUN home mortgage seminar as soon as possible.