By Diana M. Alba/Sun-News reporter
Article Launched: 12/13/2006 01:00:00 AM MST
LAS CRUCES Doņa Ana County officials are cautioning residents about deceptive letters being mailed by a California company offering loans. Some county residents have been receiving mail that at first glance appears to have been sent by Doņa Ana County in support of the company, though it wasn't, said county spokesman Jess Williams.
"Both the envelope and the letter inside are highly misleading," he said. "What we want to make sure is that people understand that mailer didn't come from the county."
The letters are actually advertisements from Insite Financial Corp. offering to refinance home loans.
Williams said the county doesn't recommend mortgage companies to residents.
"We don't have any authority over how people finance their property, and we don't endorse any company over another," he said.
The outside of the one-page mailer bears the words: "Doņa Ana County, Notification of Payment Reduction," while print just under the postage area reads "Personal and Confidential" in bold-faced type. On the inside, "Form 610-E Doņa Ana County" heads a letter that's personalized with the recipient's name.
Doņa Ana County doesn't have a Form 610-E, Williams said.
According to the body of the letter, Insite Financial Corp. "has been chosen to convert your existing home mortgage to a new lower monthly payment and possibly grant you cash in hand. ... (Y)our monthly payments could be substantially reduced, saving you thousands of dollars over the term of the loan." The mailer lists two payment options for a new mortgage but offers few details about them. A phone number for Insite Financial Corp. also is shown.
Is Insite Financial Corp. doing anything illegal by mailing the letters?
Williams said probably not, technically.
"I don't believe it's illegal, but it's unethical," he said.
Insite Financial didn't return a phone call seeking comment.
Williams said the county attorney sent a letter to Insite asking it to stop the mailings or face legal action. About two years ago, he said, the county had a similar problem with a different company. The business stopped its mailings after a request by the county, he said.
Williams said he doesn't know how the company is getting information about residents' mortgages. It's likely attained online, however. Mortgage documents filed with the county clerk's office are public records and are accessible on the county's Web site.
Apparently some area banks have had trouble with out-of-state companies sending mailers to area residents.
Donna Stryker, senior vice president at First New Mexico Bank, said customers have periodically taken her misleading mailers from at least three loan companies trying to solicit business. One company used a variation of "First New Mexico Bank" on the outside of the envelope, she said.
Stryker said residents might tend to think their bank released sensitive information to a second company or sold their addresses to a mailing list, when that's not the case. She said she once called a San Diego business that was mailing out letters to ask it to stop.
"When I called them, they said 'too bad,'" she said.
Stryker said in addition to residents believing their bank improperly released information, the letters pose another problem: The loan conditions offered often have questionable terms. For example, the letters might give the impression that a low interest loan is being offered at a fixed rate, when actually it's an adjustable rate. Company's tactics might qualify as predatory lending, she said. Stryker advised residents to give copies of misleading letters to their banks.
"If we get enough of them, we could take them to the attorney general and see whether there's anything we can do to get them to stop," she said.
Diana M. Alba can be reached at user dalba at domain lcsun-news.com
If residents are concerned about mailings, they can contact the New Mexico Attorney General's office: (505) 827-6792.
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Revision r1.1 - 31 Dec 2006 - 08:16 by EliMantel
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