<p>Figuring out where to draw the line between what&rsquo;s private and what isn&rsquo;t becomes clearer once a person understands the difference between a mortgage record and a promissory note. They are two separate things. Mortgages and deeds of Trust are definitely public records because it is a real estate transaction. Lenders must provide details to the government regarding the financing they approve or originate to comply with FFIEC HMDA guidelines. One item on the list include the interest rate. Even though a person may highly regard their mortgage data as very private, the information is shared to monitor discrimination in the financial sector. A promissory note on the mortgage is not public record and so doesn&rsquo;t get filed with any government authority. Turns out a good amount of what is in the promissory note is also in the mortgage record reported to the government. Maybe that in itself seems somewhat senseless, but that&rsquo;s how its set up for now.</p>