AG cracks down on mortgage ads
By Greg Griffin
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated:10/19/2006 http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_4513499The Colorado attorney general's office will subpoena at least 10 area mortgage brokers and companies during the next few weeks in an investigation of possibly deceptive advertising practices, a prosecutor in the office said.
The office is focusing on mortgage companies that advertise low teaser interest rates, tout minimum-loan-payment plans and use confusing terms to describe their loans, said Jan Zavislan, deputy attorney general for consumer protection.
Advertising for mortgages runs in Denver's major daily newspapers and on many radio and TV stations. Brokers also market loans on websites and through telemarketing. Some feature interest rates of as little as 1 percent and other special offers, with details often provided in fine print.
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"It is all part of stopping the worst practices and making consumers more financially literate," Zavislan said. "We want to drive home the point that
a 1 or 2 percent interest rate is just a teaser rate designed to get you in the door, and that there's really no such thing as a 30-year fixed-interest mortgage at that rate."He would not say which brokerages will receive subpoenas. The office is targeting those that have generated the most complaints, he said.
Deceptive tactics by brokers are helping fuel Colorado's foreclosure problem, Zavislan said. The state's foreclosure rate has led the nation for seven months, according to RealtyTrac.
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