So a few thousand people overpay for a home mortgage. Caveat Emptor.

Maybe I am just an idealist who believes that words should have meaning and not be used frivolously to the detriment of people. Maybe people should listen with full attention to the words they hear and question them. Maybe it is time to fight back and actually hold people responsible for what they say. Could our world work without subterfuge? Could business survive without slight of hand? I say a resounding yes.

Let me tell you that most people say they don't have the time to listen with both ears, study the subject, or understand the consequences – that they just try to get by without too much damage to themselves and their finances. In my industry, the mortgage business, that attitude can be very hazardous to your wealth, especially if you don't ask questions prior to accepting the loan. I really believe we are allowing ourselves to believe words, not actions, and we are the ones who pay the consequences, not the ones who give the message.

All of this can lead to another problem: A customer develops an unrealistic expectation based on years of hearing information that was meant to mislead, and ridicules a company who is actually trying to lead you on a straight and narrow path. When a lender advertises a rate, unless they specify, they are advertising conforming rates, which currently have a maximum loan amount of $417,000 and are owner occupied properties. Loans that are smaller than $175,000 usually have higher rates, as do loans over the conforming limit. Investment properties, and in some cases second homes, also have higher rates. Borrowers who don't fit the exact mold (and there are many other requirements for each loan) can easily feel they have been taken advantage of when receiving a different rate quote. Is it lack of understanding or too many meaningless advertisements that is the problem?

The confusion is not limited to the mortgage industry. I knew a business manager who informed a client that incorporation would save the client a lot of taxes. The client followed the advice and incorporated. When the business manager, a CPA, told the client at the end of the year to zero out the corporation and take a salary and pay tax on the salary, the client objected saying they were told that incorporation meant they didn't have to pay taxes. It took very little time for the client to leave the services of the business manager. Why? Probably a combination of a lot of things, including all the verbal waste on the air waves that helps portray nonexistent scenarios.

I really feel you can't change the world, so you just have to try to change yourself. At least in that way, the world will start to change one person at a time. Whatever you do, don't become complacent. Listen and react. Even if you only point out the incongruities to one person, it's a start.