Released on: November 28, 2007, 3:18 pm

Press Release Author: Jorge Merlos

Industry: Real Estate

Press Release Summary: "Mortgage planners", the next generation of loan officers,
teach borrowers how to save for the future
by best leveraging their mortgage loan


Press Release Body: Rancho Cucamonga, CA, Nov. 28th, 2007-With the proliferation of
mortgage loan programs such as Option ARMs (adjustable rate mortgages) and
interest-only loans, homebuyers now have access to a previously unmatched number of
mortgage programs. How to choose between one loan program and the next? While
traditional loan officers generally only help borrowers pick loans with the lowest
interest rate or monthly fee, a growing number of mortgage planners is expanding the
loan officer's role to ensure that borrowers' long-term financial goals are met.

"Most home-buyers as well as loan officers have been conditioned to believe that a
mortgage is simply a debt, rather than a useful financial tool," explains Jorge
Merlos, a Mortgage Planner Integrity Home Finance, a mortgage banking company based
in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. "They think this way simply because that's the way it's
always been. The problem is, because they're not seeing the bigger picture-that a
mortgage can be used as a vehicle for helping to build financial wealth-borrowers
are retiring over $500,000 poorer than they would have, if they'd only given their
mortgage terms more thought."

The mortgage industry is experiencing sweeping changes driven by the growing trend
toward mortgage planning, and homebuyers are the primary beneficiaries. Mortgage
planning, which involves a loan officer analyzing a borrower's mortgage options as
part of an overall financial plan, is enabling homebuyers across the country to
utilize their home equity to better secure their financial futures.

"Conventional wisdom on mortgage loan selection is outdated and misdirected,"
explains Merlos. "In many cases, traditional mortgages like 30- and 15-year fixed
rate products are considered risky. That's for many reasons. For example, if
someone opts for a 30- or 15-year fixed rate loan, thinking that it's the best way
to build equity in their home, then one day loses their job and can't pay their
mortgage, the bank won't loan them money to pay off that loan and all of a sudden
the home is at risk. Mortgage planning takes this-and many other factors-into
consideration. It's a new way of thinking about a mortgage that makes much more
sense than a formula that was created almost 100 years ago."

"A home is the largest investment that most Americans make in their lifetimes,"
explains Steven Marshall, president of Strategic Equity, a Seattle, Washington-based
company that provides mortgage planning training to loan originators. "And mortgage
planning is designed to treat the home for exactly what it is: an investment."

Mortgage planning utilizes the concepts that banks and many businesses use to
successfully optimize their debt and investing strategies. In essence, with
mortgage planning, loan officers can help borrowers better leverage and structure
their debt in order to achieve the highest tax benefits, liquidity, safety and get
the highest possible return. Reputable Mortgage Planners differ from
run-of-the-mill-loan officers in that they're less focused on interest rates, and
more focused on the long-term effects that various mortgage loan programs will have
on the borrower's financial state.

"In the mortgage industry, we're seeing great response to mortgage planning," adds
Merlos. While we don't have statistics on what percentage of borrowers are going
with Mortgage Planners over standard loan officers, the most successful loan
officers embrace the principles of mortgage planning. Borrowers are thriving as a
result of this growing trend."


Web Site: http://www.jorgemerlos.com

Contact Details: Jorge Merlos
10601 Civic Center Dr. Ste. 140
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
Direct: (909) 945-8621
Fax: (909) 945-8778
Email: JMerlos@IHFinance.com