I have followed the baby steps for a long time, and the Endorsed Local Provider (ELP) program has always entrigued me.
If you have followed us for some time, you may recall our timeshare article where we briefly cover what appeared to have been a Dave Ramsey ELP. Many people have wonder what are ELP’s and how useful Dave Ramsey says they are. So why not look into how Dave Ramsey’s ELP works. Is it worth using an ELP or looking elsewhere for assistance?
1. What is a Dave Ramsey Endorsed Local Provider (ELP)?
So what is an endorsed local provider? Dave Ramsey’s endorsed local provider (ELP) are top-rated professionals that he advocates and recommends from his network. The ELP’s were picked because of their outstanding performance and success in their progress working in their field. They only want top-notch ELPs so if they become unsuitable for their position they will be let go of immediately. The service that ELPs can provide is in insurance, real estate, tax/investing, and debt elimination.
Insurance ELP
In this field, insurance ELP are licensed insurance agents that partner with Dave Ramsey. It is said they want what is best for you and “protecting your financial future”. They have 10 different areas that the ELP cover:
- Auto
- Home
- Term Life
- Health
- Make a Will
- Identity Theft Protection
- Long-Term Care
- Umbrella
- Commercial
- Health Savings Account
Each insurance has its way of how the process works with an ELP. For example, auto insurance requires your zip code and a few questions about your car. From there, an ELP within your community will contact you and discuss further the type of coverage you need/price. Some insurances just review contact information and an ELP will get in touch with you such as long-term care and health insurance. With any ELP, you will find the right coverage for you, peace of mind, and a coached ELP.
Real Estate ELP
For this area, the Real Estate ELP covers; 1) Buying or Selling a Home 2) Home Loan 3) Refinancing Home Loan 4) Home Insurance. Generally, when you purchase a home, you will need a realtor.
When Buying or Selling a Home, you are guaranteed a caring ELP that is held up to high standards in their community. The ELP will be able to help you throughout your process and find the best value you need.
For the Home Loan and Refinancing Home Loan option, Ramsey uses Churchill Mortgage to help those find the right mortgage and refinancing home loans. They have a great history of helping thousands of others. Churchill’s loan specialist can find you the best options and give guidance on financial goals. They will also help you lower your interest rate, switch your loan type, and reduce your term. As well as being known for having a huge network across the nation.
Lastly for Home Insurance, an ELP can help you find the best quotes by going through together what you need for home insurance. It is an easy process to use and to start by calling a local insurance agent to go through the options. The Home Insurance ELP will help you by comparing rates you can find an affordable option and qualify for discounts.
You can find yourself an agent in any of these 4 areas by answering a few questions and leave your contact information.
Tax and Investing ELP
The Tax and Investing ELP has 4 different areas they cover; 1) Tax Service 2) Retirement and Investing 3) Health Savings Account 4) Finacial Coaching.
Within the Tax Service, there are two options you can use called Ramsey SmartTax or using Ramsey’s ELPs to be your tax advisor. You can take a 5-minute quiz to see with option will be the best for you depending on your financial situation.
The Retirement and Investing service will help provide you with ELPs that can advise you on financial planning, wealth management, and investing. To find out more about this you can complete a form online and connect with SmartVestor Pros and find the perfect one just right for you.
ELPS Finacial Coaching can become your personal financial mentor to help solve your financial problem. Whether it’s paying off your debts or learning how to budget and create a goal. They will provide a plan for you to complete your financial goals and advice in the long run. You can complete a form online to talk to a coach.
Investing and Retirement ELP
TheI nvesting and Retirement ELP only covers investing and retirement.
Previously, Dave Ramsey partners up with Splash Finance for ELPs for student loans. By refinancing your student loans with them, you have the possibility to pay for debt faster and start managing your money better. You can refinance your loans in 4 steps. Start on a new application form online, get your rates estimated, upload all your documents, and start your new payments to get back on track. Also, you can take a 5-minute quiz to see if you qualify to refinance your student loans.
2. What are the reviews of Dave Ramsey ELP?
Should you use a Dave Ramsey ELP? It depends. Let’s go through some different users’ experiences and cover the costs.
A Real User’s Experience
One user decided to take a chance on Dave Ramsey’s ELP and shared their experience about it. When this user started their financial journey they had no idea where to start. So, when listening to Dave Ramsey’s podcast he heard him mention about ELPs and recommended people to use them. Even though the user was a bit skeptical, he trusted Dave Ramsey and decided to take upon it.
Therefore, he enters his zip code and connects to a local ELP that Dave Ramsey highly suggested. He was referred to a quick consultation and set a meeting with the ELP. When finally meeting with the ELP it was pretty disappointing how the meeting went on. He values his first impression so when he saw how the place was, he was not impressed. He shared how it looked unorganized and papers were everywhere. It just seemed like no one was doing a good job of taking care of the office.
Once seated, he got to know the ELP a bit. The ELP was in her 50s and was talking more about her financial journey and taking care of her daughter’s college finance. He felt a bit uneasy because you would think as an ELP they would have their financial life together and felt uncomfortable taking advice from someone who is dealing with their problems.
Even though she seemed to know about investments, he didn’t feel like she was as great as an ELP that Dave Ramsey shares on his website. In the end, he did not want to return and work with the ELP because of these reasons why. As well as he did not like the numerous callbacks from her trying to get him back. It was an overall bad and disappointing experience for him. He did not get the sense of someone that is an expert and to guide him to his financial success. Instead, he decided to educate himself and do his research.
Reddit Reviews
Want to hear other reviews about the ELPs? Well, Reddit users shared their experience using Dave Ramsey’s ELP and how it went with them. Such as one user shared having an amazing experience with an ELP. This user decided to use an ELP for their ROTH IRA. They shared how excellent the ELP was and a great coach to teach the user about retirement and other financial goals. Ever since then they have bought term life insurance and were very please with their interaction with the ELP.
More Negative Experiences
Other users shared their experience with an ELP from Reddit. One user explains when using an ELP that was recommend through Dave Ramsey’s website, they had an okay experience. The ELP seemed like a good account but had no clue about anything of Dave Ramsey and his principles were. Which you would think when applying to be an ELP for Dave Ramsey you would at least know something about him and what he does. Another user from Reddit explained their story when they used an ELP. They shared when purchasing a home they decided to look into an ELP and liked how fast they got in contact with one. Though once they met in person they felt like the ELP was “average” and did not seem too interested in their situation. This gave a negative impact on how they view the ELP and decided not to continue with them.
More people shared their side of the story on Reddit when using an ELP. A user explained how they tried to refinance their home. So, they took a chance with an ELP that had “a heart of a teacher”. The ELP made the process painless to her and great at negotiating. The user loved how helpful the ELP was and would love to use another ELP in the future. Even though that sounded like an amazing experience it was not the case for the next user.
This user shared how their experience was terrible. The ELP was supposed to help refinance their house and said they would have their paperwork done at a certain date. Though that was not the case and the user waited for months to hear back from the ELP. With no updates, the user became frustrated and decided not to continue with the ELP. These are just a few different examples of experience using an ELP.
Does it cost you anything?
While it may not cost anything to you to speak with someone, the Dave Ramsey trusted provider may be paying for the chance to speak with you. In fact, the ELP’s pay quite a lot to be endorsed by Dave Ramsey and being a part of Dave Ramsey’s ELP Program. The agents have to pay a monthly fee to continue. They had to pay over a couple of hundred dollars every month and pay for leads as well.
3. Pros of using an ELP:
1. Potentially Quality Advice:
A major benefit of using Dave Ramsey’s endorsed local providers is that Dave’s reputation will be on the line if anything goes wrong. With such a guarantee, it’s certain that you’ll be getting a top-notch financial advice
2. Research:
Dave Ramsey’s endorsed local service providers spend ample time on research. When helping you with investment, they research on available opportunities and identify which is the best. Even if they may not have an immediate answer to one of your questions, they’ll eventually furnish you with an adequate response.
More generally, Dave Ramsey says that ELPs regularly undertake research to ensure that they have the latest knowledge in the industry. Some top-notch ELPs also have analysts, industry experts, and advisors. They all help to improve the efficiency of the ELPs.
3. Relaxation:
The chance to relax while making an important financial decision is a benefit that’s more so than any other. If you find an ELP, you can feel relaxed since a knowledgeable person is helping with your financial decisions.
You will have ample time for yourself since you won’t have to monitor the market regularly. The ELP will also inform you if there’s something worth discussing. And if you need clarity, then you can easily contact the ELP.
4. Guidance on tax issues:
There is no benefit in putting your money in an investment vehicle, and discovering the tax you’ll be required to pay a less attractive investment a better option. Sometimes, taxes can cancel out your debt or wipe out a part of your capital.
Dave Ramsey says his ELPs are trained to take care of these concerns. Making sure that you’re aware of the tax implications of your investment decision and helping with alternatives. They can also come up with ways to reduce your tax burden and advise you on the latest investment opportunities. They will also inform you of any legislative changes that can help you.
Cons of Using ELP:
1. Potential Quality Issues
You don’t necessarily know whether you are going to get the most qualified individual to represent your needs. As the reviews above suggest, you may not get the best ELP. There’s also a question of how Dave Ramsey weeds out the less qualified actors.
2. People are often paying to talk with you.
We will cover how people get the opportunity to talk with you below, but the gist is that an ELP may pay to have the chance to speak with you, which may make the need for a sale be greater.
4. Understand The Process Of How People Get to Speak with You
Quality is important. Let’s look at the process of how Dave Ramsey allows people to become an ELP.
According to Dave Ramsey, being an ELP is not an easy thing. This is because Dave Ramsey ensures that they conform to a top-notch set principle that most financial advisors can’t attain. An individual can join Dave’s Program if he/she meets the stringent conditions—and the fee required is just a little amount. According to Dave Ramsey’s site, this fee is needed to settle the cost of employment and website maintenance. Irrespective of what you pay, you should have in mind that Dave Ramsey’s endorsement is earned and not bought. However, there is no reference on Dave Ramsey’s site about the amount the ELP is expected to pay.
Dave’s ELPs are paid on an agreed commission on sales on mutual funds with front loads (Generically called A Shares in the business). This mode of payment corresponds with Dave’s ideology on investing on your own.
How to become a Dave Ramsey ELP
Are you interested in becoming a Dave Ramsey ELP? If so, let’s go through the process. To become a Dave Ramsey ELP, you can apply towards 5 different business areas: real estate, tax service, property/casualty, long-term care, and health. They have 3 major values when becoming an ELP for Dave Ramsey. They want ELPs who are ready to help others become financially successful. As well as someone willing to continue to learn and grow as a professional ELP. Mostly an ELP who is responsible for their clients to keep in touch with them and being on track of their leads.
To start the process of applying to become an ELP, there are a few steps that must be taken. Everyone knows it for being extremely hard to get through the process. So, once submitted an application, Dave Ramsey’s team will start with a background check. Then review your form and see what they are looking for. Something to consider to add is having the proper license with a good agency. Have experience with dealing with the highs and lows of the industry and how you dealt with it. Keeping in mind for the long run and being good at keeping in contact with your clients. Most importantly, make sure to have an understanding of Dave Ramsey’s principles and what he stands for. If interested in applying to become an ELP for Dave Ramsey, you can complete the application and see how it goes from there.
In Conclusion
Dave Ramsey’s ELP’s are to be the top-quality agents that Dave Ramsey promotes and recommends others to use. What is nice about Dave Ramsey’s ELPs is how much area they cover over to help with whatever financial situation you are in. Though as we look further into the ELPs, we see some negative backlash and reviews on them. Honestly, it seems more like luck when it comes to finding an ELP. You should not fully trust the ELPs Dave Ramsey endorses, but it never hurts to try and you may find one that is everything Dave Ramsey says who they should be and how helpful they are.