Just for giggles, I took a moment to read a junk e-mail I received today. What a sales pitch! The title of the e-mail is "How to SKIP a mortgage payment for no cost!" and begins by lamenting that the holidays will soon be upon us, along with all the stress of how to pay for them. Thankfully, these self-titled "longtime mortgage advisers and consumer advocates" have a "strategic option that could PAY FOR YOUR HOLIDAY SEASON - without increasing your credit card debt!"

Isn't that wonderful? Here is their solution, direct cut and paste:

Example:

Current Mortgage:
Two years ago you financed $250,000 at 4.25%
Principal & Interest (PI) = $1230
Taxes & Insurance = $400
Monthly Payment = $1630
Current Escrow Balance ~ $1600
Estimated remaining balance $241,388

You could net approximately $1230 + $1600 = $2830 during the holidays with no closing costs !

Refinance at 4.25% (choose a rate to allow lender to pay all your closing costs)
New Loan is $241,388 plus new escrow account plus one months interest to allow you to skip a month. $241,388 + $1600 (escrows) + $853 (30 days interest) = $243,850 new loan amount

Yeah, I believe I will NOT be taking advantage of their helpful strategy, even though they are "consumer advocates".