Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
A few years ago I began looking into why Zander insurance and Churchill Mortgage were the only ELPs Ramsey had in their fields, especially since Churchill Mortgage does not have the best reputation. It turns out he is a partial owner of Zander insurance and his best friend from childhood is the owner of Churchill mortgage, I have been told by clients that they called Ramsey's radio show to complain about treatment by one of the companies and of course were not only allowed on the show but got no response from Ramsey or the organization as a whole.
Personally it has bugged me since I found out that stuff, at the end of the day he is lining his pockets and those of his closest friend, while pushing that he is doing it to help out his listeners. Why not disclose that he owns a piece of Zander? Why not tell the story of him and the owner of Churchill mortgage on the air?
Fact is the ELP program has costs associated with running it and since they are using Ramsey's client base he deserves a piece of the profits, paying a referral fee or an upfront fee like all of the other ELPs do is not that big of a problem, unless those fees are extremely high. Personally I do not know the exact fees they are charging for the leads service for P & C agents, or health agents, but I am sure like with Realtors Ramsey and company are getting money out of it somewhere. so I will not really judge on that.
so at the end of the day my take is that anybody who does not disclose that he is actually a stakeholder in a company he endorses makes me wonder about the rest of his endorsements. I also only really like to do business by and through referrals from people I know and trust, but even still I do my best to verify that the expert I am using knows what they are doing and is going to provide the service I am paying for.
This is partially true. As a former real estate agent, and a big DR fan, I looked into being an ELP and the qualifications were pretty stiff. You have to demonstrate some pretty sound proficiency in your chosen field to be accepted. You must also provide personal and professional references in addition to quite a few other documents and you must sign an agreement that says you will abide by the Ramsey philosophy.
Dave takes his recommendations very seriously. He has a very good reputation to uphold and he is not going to let someone tarnish it. Dave has a lot of money and he got there by, more than anything else, being truthful, honorable and people TRUSTING HIM and his recommendations.
Not only that, if you had a problem with an ELP and reported it to the Ramsey people, you can bet he/she would be investigated by them and have their ELP status yanked if they did anything contrary to his philosophy. Yes, it is heavily Christian/biblical in nature, but that is part of the deal. YOU don't have to be a Christian or believer to benefit from the advice and expertise.
20yrsinBranson
True to most of this. I would think that an ELP is going to be competent and moral. I would never become an ELP, because you basically have to give Dave a 30% referral fee. I love Dave, but he's got enough of his own money, he's not getting mine. Also, how good is an agent that is willing to buy clients and get a cut rate commission as a reward. The whole thing is murky to say the least. If I do a deal and work hard to represent my client, I want all the money, not a part of it. Too many deals fall apart where we end up getting nothing. When I do arrive at a closing table, I want it ALL!
My experience with the endorsed agent I was referred to was bad. The guy would.not.stop.calling.me. The calls (99% of them went to voicemail) went on for well over a year and only stopped because I blocked every phone number he uses and I went as far as changing my VOIP settings to only allow approved people on my contact list to reach me. Anyone not on my approved list goes straight to voicemail. His calls or any from his firm or his cell or his emails get blocked altogether and for the calls a "number not in service" is played. All emails from him or anyone at that firm gets sent straight to spam. He even progressed at one point to calling me at work, where I was unable to block calls, but that quickly ended after I got laid off. ;-D
I had no idea I would end up with someone desperately looking to sell $$$$ front loaded funds. I agree with Ramsey's approach, but on this one thing (endorsed agents) I would caution anyone to think twice before going that route with a Ramsey agent. For me, NEVER again will I make that mistake.
Maybe I'm not understanding. Are these two statments not contradicting each other?
Not at all. There is a big difference between competent and moral, and outstanding. Some agents are ethical and meet the standards as promulgated by the industry. Others condemn certain accepted practices of the industry, and seek to elevate the profession further by having those practices stopped.
A competent and moral agent is rather ordinary. They will get the job done and not make waves. Other annoying and outstanding agents rock the boat and bring a higher level of service. Those agents do not give away their money to buy business. They generate the business on their own and keep the entire commission because they feel they earned it and are entitled to it by virtue of application and expertise.
Example? Dual agency. I don't do it, even though it is legal and considered ethical. To me, it is unethical and a breach of fiduciary duty. An agent should never try to represent a seller and buyer in the same transaction. Yet the practice is high-fived by most agents, and is called double-dipping. You walk into my open house and I will show you the house and sell its virtues and qualities. You want to make an offer? I send you to another company. I represent my client, so I will not represent you. Same with a buyer. If we start looking at houses and you take a liking to one of my listings and you want to make an offer, we say goodbye and I send you to another company.
Negotiating between buyers and sellers is cordial, but adversarial. One person cannot do a good job by attempting dual representation.
My experience with the endorsed agent I was referred to was bad. The guy would.not.stop.calling.me. The calls (99% of them went to voicemail) went on for well over a year and only stopped because I blocked every phone number he uses and I went as far as changing my VOIP settings to only allow approved people on my contact list to reach me. Anyone not on my approved list goes straight to voicemail. His calls or any from his firm or his cell or his emails get blocked altogether and for the calls a "number not in service" is played. All emails from him or anyone at that firm gets sent straight to spam. He even progressed at one point to calling me at work, where I was unable to block calls, but that quickly ended after I got laid off. ;-D
I had no idea I would end up with someone desperately looking to sell $$$$ front loaded funds. I agree with Ramsey's approach, but on this one thing (endorsed agents) I would caution anyone to think twice before going that route with a Ramsey agent. For me, NEVER again will I make that mistake.
Agree completely. Plus I really don't dig my agent being screened and approved based on a religious litmus test. That goes against my American sensibilities.
Having said that, everyone should listen to Dave's radio show and consider his financial strategy and advice. It will make you a happier and better person if you follow it. He strongly advocates avoiding becoming a slave to the banks by overutilizing debt. If you are thinking about buying a home, he purveys great wisdom regarding when and how to do it so that you achieve the Dream and avoid the Nightmare. It will also make you an overall more disciplined person in other areas of your life, and who couldn't use a little bit more of that? And he does all that in a hokey but humorous and entertaining manner. Good stuff. It's on WOR 710 AM every day from 2-4PM.
My experience with the endorsed agent I was referred to was bad. The guy would.not.stop.calling.me. The calls (99% of them went to voicemail) went on for well over a year and only stopped because I blocked every phone number he uses and I went as far as changing my VOIP settings to only allow approved people on my contact list to reach me. Anyone not on my approved list goes straight to voicemail. His calls or any from his firm or his cell or his emails get blocked altogether and for the calls a "number not in service" is played. All emails from him or anyone at that firm gets sent straight to spam. He even progressed at one point to calling me at work, where I was unable to block calls, but that quickly ended after I got laid off. ;-D
I had no idea I would end up with someone desperately looking to sell $$$$ front loaded funds. I agree with Ramsey's approach, but on this one thing (endorsed agents) I would caution anyone to think twice before going that route with a Ramsey agent. For me, NEVER again will I make that mistake.
Goodness! Did you tell him to stop calling you? If I were you, I'd send Dave and email because he doesn't want people like this representing him. It would be a courtesy of you to do this. Honestly.
Because 99.9% of his calls went to voicemail the one or 2 times he did reach me I told him I was not going to invest. He reached me 1 time after I was laid off and upon telling him I had no job and wasn't interested, he finally stopped. Of course right after that call I blocked him, so who knows if he really stopped altogether or just could no longer get through. Either way, I've received nothing further and that's all I wanted.
OK, Let's cut to the chase. Every ELP pays DR to be an ELP. As a Financial Advisor the average fee paid to DR is roughly $1,500/mo which is 30% 0f my take. I also pay a marketing fee to him which gets the fee to $1,500. We do nothing different than any other advisor,DR is just a great lead system. I had to say I was christian and I was in. They do not check your credentials and yes, we are all commission based. It is illegal to be fee based and pay DR.
OK, Let's cut to the chase. Every ELP pays DR to be an ELP. As a Financial Advisor the average fee paid to DR is roughly $1,500/mo which is 30% 0f my take. I also pay a marketing fee to him which gets the fee to $1,500. We do nothing different than any other advisor,DR is just a great lead system. I had to say I was christian and I was in. They do not check your credentials and yes, we are all commission based. It is illegal to be fee based and pay DR.
You are replying to an 11 month old discussion. I would question how close you pay attention to details.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
