Realities, as in the events and experiences of refinancing your real estate mortgage. Out of the blue, my mortgage holder contacted me with an offer to refinance.

I knew I had an excellent FICA score and therefore I expected to qualify for the best rate.

Not so fast, grasshopper. The mortage company does not use the consumer score from Experian, Equifax, or other similar agencies. Instead, they use a "Mortgage" score which they are totally unable to explain, but which is substantially lower than the Experian, inevitably leading to a higher interest rate.

This "Mortgage" score looks at total indebtedness with no regard for much of anything else (like debt to credit ratio) or paid off credit cards (which, having a zero balance, don't even count). Instead of paying off a $5,000 card (and having the others at a higher level), one would do better to put $1,000 on each card.

It feels remarkably like bait and switch. The realities of corporate manipulation, playing hardball.

You have been warned. The game is rigged.