Novel Aussie Loan Introduced in U.S.

An Australian home loan program that combines a mortgage and a full-service checking account has been introduced in the United States by CMG Mortgage Inc., a wholesale mortgage bank based in San Ramon, Calif.The CMG Homeownership Accelerator is based on a fast-growing Australian model used by nearly a third of the homeowners in that country, the company said. "Homeowners deposit their paychecks directly into the new line of credit mortgage account, and they write all of their expenses out of the mortgage as well," CMG said. "While they are not using their money, it reduces their daily loan balance, on which interest is computed." The company said this can save tens of thousands of dollars in interest over the life of the loan, enabling borrowers to build equity faster and own their home sooner without changing their monthly budget. But the loan program is "not for everyone," CMG vice president of marketing Doug Nesbit cautioned. "You need to have positive cash flow and be disciplined about your use of equity," he said. The holding company for CMG, CMG Financial Services, can be found online at http://www.cmgfs.com.