If you read this column often, you know how I feel about the fear-mongering approach we so often see in today's real estate and mortgage how-tos. It's hard for me to get behind any "advice" that attempts to position real estate consumers and their advisors in an adversarial face-off, or seeks to further foment the division and paranoia already pervading the real estate ether. My sense is that the most paranoid buyers are not necessarily the ones that save the most money and get the best deals. In fact, I've seen paranoia cause people to make poor, panic-based decisions and incorrectly suspect very well-intentioned advisors of steering them wrong, alienating themselves from all the legitimate folks and essentially delivering themselves into the hands of the folks they should really be avoiding.

Whew -- glad I got that out.  more...