REVIEW: No, this advertisement is not for a Congressional Approved Mortgage Relief Program

“It’s basically a complete clickbait,” one mortgage lender told the WFAA.

DALLAS – The pandemic caused many Americans to need as much financial assistance as they could find, and the federal government tried to reach it with a variety of different stimulus programs.

But several emails from WFAA viewers asked to review the claims made in several posts they saw online about a mortgage relief program.

We found one such post online that said that homeowners who owe less than $ 331,760 on their mortgage could get a benefit of $ 3,588.

THE QUESTION

Is there a Congressional Approved Homeowner Relief Program for Mortgage Payments?

THE SOURCE

THE ANSWER

To call potential mortgage savings opportunities “Congressional Homeowner Aid” is a highly misleading term and a combination of several half-truths.

WHAT WE FOUND

Put simply, the posts you see showing mortgage benefits and savings opportunities are cleverly disguised advertisements.

“It’s basically a complete clickbait,” said Whitmire.

Sites like LowerMyBills.com use the ads in hopes of attracting you to their website, filling out an application, and then connecting you to a lender who may or may not save you money.

Refinancing can save you money, depending on the size of your mortgage debt and your current interest rate. This is one of the “half-truths” in advertising.

Another half-truth calls it a “Congress Approved Program”. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are mortgage lenders who have received government funding, but any savings that might be found are not the result of Congressional action in the broadest sense of new law or legislation.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t (save),” said Whitmire, “but not everyone will get that. No not at all.”