Stop Listening to Suze Ormon

This post does not specifically deal with the mortgage industry but I think can be applied to mortgage advice. It deals with investment advice and since a home is probably the largest investment most of us will ever make I decided to write about something I saw on the MSN homepage.

About a year or so ago I was telling my wife about Suze Ormon who I had seen on TV claiming to be a financial expert. She had appeared on a number of TV shows, including her own.
I personally found her advice to be seriously lacking any substantive information. It was along the lines of "Buy Low and Sell High". In my opinion her advice was extremely rudimentary and was filled with a lot of psycho-babble. In other words, "where's the beef"?" I was surprised to see her gain more and more notoriety over the next year. If there is one thing I can give Suze Ormon credit for, it's her ability to self promote.

Evidently someone else agrees with my wife and I as they have taken the time to address her on MSN's home page. Here's the link to the article.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/RetirementandWills/CreateaPlan/CreateaPlanDyn.aspx?cp-documentid=17714458&GT1=33013

Sometimes when we see some personality on a popular show, such as Oprah or Larry King, we might tend to assume that somehow that personality has attained some degree of hard earned credibility. However, even the producers of Oprah and Oprah herself make faulty judgements. As an example, author James Frey, who appeared on Oprah and who she touted in her book club, appeared again later and had to admit he made up material in his book of memoirs.

We all need to be careful from whom we obtain our advice and be of mindful of media hype.
Click on the link above and decide for yourself whether or not Suze Ormon is someone to whom you should entrust your financial well being.

In August of 2008, after my meager IRA portfolio lost 20% and declined to an even more meager amount, I called my advisor at Bank of America and told him I wanted to move the money currently in Mutual Funds into cash, like bonds or T-bills. The Dow had dropped from about 13,000 and was trading near 10,500. The advisor tried to convince me that this was the wrong move, that the market would rebound. I stuck to my guns and he did as I requested. Today as I write this, the DOW is at about 7400. I would have lost another 20-30% had I listened to him. After the change my balance has actually gone up a little. At least I did not lose anymore.
Just because someone claims to be knowledgeable and/or an expert does not make it so.
Bernard Madoff's victims can vouch for that fact.
No one cares or will care about your money as much as you do. Do some research on your own before you make any decision that could affect your savings or investments.

Ok, so how does this apply to buying a home or getting a mortgage. Well, we've all seen the TV ads offering some ridiculously low rate, followed by the inevitable fine print so small it's not even readable. Or there is a voice over at end where the guy is talking so fast you thought you were at an auction. Naturally once you actually look into it you find out it's the old bait and switch. Or perhaps you've read an ad in the local paper that states "bad credit is no problem!". If you've called around and someone is quoting a ridiculously low rate, you should at least be suspicious.
Before you take any action I recommend the first step should be to talk to friends and family members who have owned a home and ask them about their experiences.
When speaking to a loan officer ask for references from past customers and ascertain if they were satisfied with his services.
Also, if you are utilizing a Realtor (and you should be if buying a home) ask for a recommendation or referral. They will have worked with many loan officers and are not going to suggest someone that they do not trust or think highly of as it directly affects their livelihood and their reputation.

A little due diligence will go a long way. Don't blindly accept or believe everything you see or read in the media.