[legion]

National City used to send me ads for their "equity accelerator" program.

Instead of my mortgage being due once a month, they halved the payment amount and made it due every two weeks. In theory, this would add up to me making an extra (monthly)payment a year. Reading the fine print, there was a $50 "convenience charge" per payment for this program. My mortgate is $1100 a month.

That's right, I would end up LOSING $100 in equity a year if I signed up for this program (as the "convenience fee" would eat up MORE than the additional payments). Even better, my grace period on payments would go from 15 days to 5 days--and be due twice a month. They'd be almost certain to ding me on late fees (which I have never had paying monthly) if I were travelling or my paychecks didn't line up just right with their due dates.

I throw an extra $100 on every payment and come out much better with no extra fees or penalties.