Probably the biggest single lie told by United First Financial “agents” is that you can pay off your mortgage faster than scheduled, with no change in your spending or lifestlye. That sounds too good to be true, because it is.
Simple math debunks this claim. Think about it. If you’re currently paying $1,500 a month on your mortgage and you’re scheduled to have it paid off in 30 years, how would you pay it off earlier? The only possible way to do that is to pay more than $1,500, right?
UFF agents aren’t too fond of this simple math. They’ve got to confuse potential marks with talk of fancy software, algorithms, and optimizing payments. The truth is that the money shuffle that UFF wants you to do, saves you little to nothing on your mortgage. Even under the best case scenario, the money shuffle promoted by UFF will save you a couple hundred bucks a year. (And for that you’re willing to pay $3,500?)
The truth is that your mortgage is paid off earlier if you pay more, faster. So if you’ve got an extra $1,000 and want to pay off your mortgage sooner, pay that money on your mortgage. You don’t need an overpriced computer program to tell you if you should pay it this week or next week. If you’ve got it, pay it. (The difference between paying the $1,000 one week earlier or later only results in about $1 of interest savings anyway.)
So anyone who is being pitched the UFF Money Merge Account must use simple logic and agree that the only way to pay off a mortgage early is to pay more than their minimum payment. Since UFF isn’t going to be giving you any money to do that, you’ll need to find that “extra” money in your own budget.
If you’re living like many Americans, which is paycheck to paycheck, how will you do that? The only way to free up some money to put toward your mortgage is to change your spending habits. This flies directly in the face of the UFF claim that you don’t have to change your spending. Why? Because UFF is lying to get you to buy their product.
The only way to have more money for your mortgage is to spend less on other things. Budgeting is a great thing, but you don’t need UFF to do it. You certainly don’t need to spend $3,500 to do it when there are software packages out there that cost $50 to $150 which can help you do a wonderful budget and find that extra money for the mortgage.
Oh… and here’s one of my favorite UFF agent lines to help legitimize what they’re selling: “But Big Bank XYZ is selling the Money Merge program to its customers. It must be good!”
Newsflash: Banks sell a lot of things to their customers that are bad for them. Have you heard of credit cards? But the banks offer these products because it makes them money.So don’t think that banks are selling UFF to their customers out of the goodness of their hearts. They’re selling it because they make money.
20 Aug 08 at 2:44 pm
Give it up people. The negativity is borderline pathetic. UFirst is offering people a solution. What do you offer? Negativity on something you know nothing about. I would bet my left arm anyone that speaks out against the program has yet to speak with an actual client of the company. If it didn’t work, the company wouldn’t exist. Is $3,500 a lot of money? Sure it is. Is paying $400,000+ for a $200,000 home too much money? Of course it is, and there hasn’t been a legitimate solution to remedy this until now. I would rather spend $3,500 dollars knowing I would save tens of thousands in interest, than spend $50 on a book/CD telling me how I don’t understand finances and should try different solutions that may or may not work. Where do you go when you have a questions about the book/CD? Exactly. Nowhere. Wake up and do your research.
Are all UFirst agents good? Absolutely not, that would be impossible. You think every company in the world has perfect employees, agents, etc? At least what they offer is helping families breathe easier knowing their finances won’t be the end of them. You don’t have to like the company, or the program, or the cost. But you have to respect what they’re trying to do, which is help Americans get out from under overwhelming debt. What are you doing, other than not offering any solutions whatsoever.
20 Aug 08 at 6:57 pm
Finally I agree with a UFF agent! The negativity of this program is pathetic. It’s pathetic that someone can waste $3,500, be told complete lies about what it will do, and come out no further ahead than if they simply engaged in monthly prepayment of the mortgage (for free, without expensive software).
I’ve done plenty of research on UFF to know that the program they’re selling is complete crap, and not worth more than about $50. It’s “helping” people alright… helping them waste $3,500. They could spend an hour with a CPA or financial planner and learn more than this software will ever “teach” them.
And software like this doesn’t fix people’s finances. Only self-discipline does. Incidentally, that’s free as well.
21 Aug 08 at 7:29 am
“What are you doing, other than not offering any solutions whatsoever.”
By paying $3500 to your 30 year mortgage instead of flushing it down the UFF toilet, a person will have saved $20,000 on that mortgage (since you guys like to mix future value with present value when it suits you). That seems like substantial value to me and free to boot.
“If it didn’t work, the company wouldn’t exist. ”
That may be the funniest thing I’ve read in a long time. Could I interest you in some “enhancement” pills?
21 Aug 08 at 12:15 pm
Once again, Tracy manages to twist words. Good job. Obviously I am referring to the negativity towards the program. There is nothing negative about the program. It is very clear you have yet to speak with anyone that is actually using the program, which would be necessary in doing any research on a company. Go figure, people using it would be a good measure as to the effectiveness of a product. It’s weird how that works.
I think it’s great there are people out there looking out for consumers for scams, but it’s probably best for you to move on to other things. This is not your specialty.
I am glad I made someone laugh though. That makes me feel good. It’s funny to me how up until these programs on paying mortgages surfaced, nobody was helping people pay off their homes early or offering any legitimate advice of the sort. UFirst, those monsters for helping people, how dare they. Where do they get off.
21 Aug 08 at 7:40 pm
I am a Real Estate trainer for a top company in New England; I have a bit of influence in our Real Estate community. I was approached by someone with ties to the National Association of Realtors Women’s Council, a group I love and trust. When I saw the flyer on this I wondered why there was not more information. LIke: Why should I care? Do I make money on this? Is there a cost? If so How much? My first impression was forgetaboutit, but since the offer came from a person in a very reputable organization I decided to look into it. Glad I found this article! When something is so hidden it makes you wonder what they are hiding! In Real Estate we have to be very careful about making money on things other than selling real-estate and we have to disclose everything if we are- hope this person is following the rules!
21 Aug 08 at 7:46 pm
John - I HAVE talked to people using this product and they all have one thing in common: They have no idea what the program is really accomplishing (which is NOTHING that a simple and free prepayment would do).
They all believe the lie stated in the title of this post. They are all confused about what they really bought, and don’t realize they could have had equally good results paying off their mortgage early FOR FREE.
They got duped, plain and simple. I’m glad you brought up talking to users of the program, because that’s one thing I hadn’t yet written about. The users are ill-informed about what they’ve plunked down thousands of dollars for. It’s sad, really.
28 Aug 08 at 7:21 am
I was approaced on line as a prospective employee candidate for UFF.
Wow, at first I too thought it could be a good program, especially for those people that can’t find the money to kick start a budget. Nothing like infusing a little cash to get off to a good start.
The more I read the more I feel it’s another bank scam. It reminds me the sooner I can get free of the banks the better.
28 Aug 08 at 7:41 am
I have been a REALTOR since 1980, I have seen a lot of ways to cut your mortgage time frame from 30 to 15 or better years. One way I was told is to make one extra mortgage payment a year and have it applied to the principle, another way was from day one to bay double the principal amount - in the beginning that is very low, and as time goes on it may get higher but hopefully you are in a better position, another way is to apply the tax savings that you get from writing off the interest and taxes to your principal in the form of your tax rebate. So there is some free advice that I have been giving out for a LONG time. (and most of the REALTORS I know do tell their clients this)