This past November, I had an email conversation with a fellow mortgage broker from Florida that centered around how the Money Merge Accounts and CMG Homeownership Accelerator can be beneficial and that I am doing more harm than good with "general blanket statements like 'most likely not right for you.'" He even claimed "you are missing the main point: The MMA/CMG systems focus is to PAY OFF THE MORTGAGE, not claim to have the best investment strategy".
Well, you can imagine how the conversation went, but here is a quick breakdown...
He continues to believe that I am missing the point and my running the numbers is doing a disservice to the consumer, commenting "WHAT I AM STANDING UP FOR I DO NOT SEE YOU DOING IS JUST THAT. WHICH IS THE GREATER GOOD FOR THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE? DO YOU EVER PAUSE TO CONSIDER SOMEONE LOOKING ON THE INTERNET TO UNDERSTAND THE CMG OR MMA SYSTEM WILL NOT FOLLOW YOUR FINANCIAL ADVICE BUT SEE YOUR COMMENTS & DECIDE THESE SYSTEMS ARE FALLACIES OR SCAMS?" Educating the public on how these works allows the consumer, not the salesman, to decide if these programs are in their best interest. By presenting other options and a little education, how can that be not helpful to the vast majority of people. I have no problem calling fallacies and scams by what they are? I also want the consumer to know there are other options and those options are most likely more beneficial, both short and long term.
His belief is that I go solely based on a spreadsheet and not look at the client's overall picture, yet I have talked repeatedly about my unique process called MEDS™ which runs people through a process that ensures there mortgage matches their goals. Sure spreadsheets are involved, but they are like every other financial plan, they predict or forecast the future and need to be updated regularly because that picture changes.
He also lumped separated the "average homeowner" from a "highly disciplined investor". Why? All it takes is a little education to bring the "average homeowner" an understanding of how money works and then they can make an educated decision on what is in their best interests, which is likely not the Money Merge Account or even CMG HOA.
I could go on and on with this, but I think you get the point. The man did demonstrate that he tries to find the best solution for his clients. A visit to his company website shows he has taken some material from my own and reworded it, interestingly enough. Just check out his company's page and mine.
So, if you think I am doing a disservice or would like to here what Rich has to say about your situation, check him out. Also, if you think I am doing a disservice, let me know, but with client testimonials like this one from those I don't even get paid for helping, I would beg to differ.
I want to congratulate you on your forthrightness regarding your investigations into mortgage acceleration products like MMA and CMG HOA. You came to the correct decision that if a person wanted to pay off their mortgage, the simplest way to do it is to send in extra principal every month. There are many Internet calculators that will tell you what your interest savings and payoff period will be.
Mortgage payoff products can be used as a last resort if a person isn't disciplined enough to send in the money on their own. These products act as a financial dashboard showing a person how each dollar spent affects their projected interest savings and payoff date. It is an expensive tool to say the least.
Posted by: JimmyDaGeek | January 30, 2008 at 03:02 PM