Real estate agents certainly get their fair share of consumer distrust, and rightfully so at times. There are still far too many agents who spew all sorts of advice, data and insights based out of thin air or self-serving agendas, recklessly, which is almost as bad as doing so purposefully. Worse are some of the so-called experts that broadcast their intelligence either via established media or Youtube, TikTok, Instagram and other channels to a much broader believing audience. Lots of what they message is accurate and then (out of desperation, greed or malice?) they add salacious, false, inaccurate content to generate a bigger audience. Often these social media or reality TV personalities become regular media guests as they draw in a crowd. But we are not alone.

How many financial experts and economists have you heard whose advice or pontifications will make even the most heavily botoxed eyebrow rise at times? Unless you are pretty fluent in finances, not unlike medical professionals, most really want to believe what they are being told. Too often these 'experts' are completely wrong. Too often some are just not that smart or have self serving agendas usually motivated by fees. I've encountered financial advisors who discourage their clients from buying a home purely because it means they get to manage less of their money and earn lower fees as a result of this. How many financial advisors keep telling consumers not to buy a home and that renting and investing for life will be so much better for them? The consumer or the financial advisor? Or the landlord? Often these advisors own lots of rental properties.

I feel these days the TIK-TOK-Advisor is a growth industry that requires us to verify the many claims they spew 24/7 mostly to make a salacious headline and gain followers because that will fuel their coffers, not yours. Recently, a respected financial advisor and media personality who provides outstanding financial advice (I agree with lots of it), recently on one of his Youtube videos claimed eggs cost $7, gas $5 and mortgage rates were 7%. At first I simply believed that. I wanted to. Why would he of all people - a data and facts guy - lie or even exaggerate? But Ronald Reagan's words rang in my ears: "Trust, but verify". So I did, and this is what I learned:

1.  $7 Eggs? Fresh Direct: $4.79 for a dozen "organic" eggs. (Non-organic even less) (31-42% off)
2.  $5 Gas? Average US price: $3.18, and even California and Hawaii were under $5 miraculously. (15-36% off)
3.  7% Mortgage interest rates? The average is around  6.44% (8% off)

He is just one culprit of this semi-new abusive trend. There is another creature on social media spewing the "crashing housing market" I caught onto his stuff months ago, now he is being quoted in multiple media outlets, even highly respected ones.

Abbreviated advice on complicated matters is bad. The problem with agenda-driven liars, fraudsters, deceivers and exaggerators is not them, it's us! You and I. We don't call them out loudly enough. There are virtually no repercussions for inaccurate claims as no-one seems to have any time to fact-check. Or call people out. Aside from accepting what they say as fact, our silence leads to them repeating their rubbish to the point of more serious, intelligent people accepting their words as facts and truth. Exhaustion is a weak excuse. We cannot resign ourselves to these perpetrators of BS. Speak up!