SANTA CRUZ (August 22, 2009) - We have all received offers that sounded too good to be true. The challenge is to decipher what is real and what is bogus. Today’s popularity of the internet and email has made it possible for unscrupulous vendors to peddle their products or services to the masses. Statistically, these vendors know that there will always be a few takers.

There probably is no field that is more burdened with these solicitations than the mortgage industry. Remember when sales people would reach you on the phone or in your mailbox and offer mortgage rates as low as 1 percent? Well, now they are teasing the public through on-line offers of reduced interest rate mortgages for refinances and if homeowners are not doing their homework by thoroughly researching what they are being told and who they are dealing with, they could fall prey to these scams.

I recently had a client call me to comment on the offer she had just received from a popular on-line lender. There were claims of being able to lower the rate and lower the monthly payment and get a check out of the deal for $10,000 to boot! Not surprisingly, the math didn’t quite work out as the lender had portrayed it. Since my client did not owe much on her mortgage and since her rate was already low, the only party to benefit from a refinance would have been the lender.

There certainly are homeowners who could benefit from a refinance but have been reluctant to step forward to find out what their options really are. When it comes to making a decision about the financing on what probably is the homeowner’s biggest asset, their home, it is certainly prudent to work with a trusted entity. Additionally, working with someone that you can sit down with to discuss your situation (and go to when questions or concerns arise) provides much needed value.

Most local mortgage professionals would be happy to talk with you or meet with you to discuss your individual situation. If you don’t have anyone that you have worked with that you liked, ask your friends or work associates for a referral. It is best to work with a referral because, unfortunately, there are still those in the mortgage industry that are more interested in making money than helping out their clients.

This column is written every Saturday by Peter Boutell, Certified Mortgage Planner and a principal at Santa Cruz Home Finance. You may reach him at (831) 425-1250 of email him at Peter@SantaCruzHomeFinance.com.