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Read Dave Ramsey ELP realtor reviews | How does the ELP realtor program work? | Pros and cons | Alternatives
What is Dave Ramsey’s ELP realtors program?
Dave Ramsey’s Endorsed Local Provider (ELP) realtors program is a free service that matches you with local real estate agents “endorsed” by Dave Ramsey, the well-known personal finance author and radio host.
The ELP service is part of Ramsey’s company, Ramsey Solutions. In addition to realtors, the program provides referrals for service providers like tax advisors and insurance agents.
If you need to find a real estate agent to help you buy or sell a home, Dave Ramsey’s ELP realtor service is a relatively easy way to get a quick introduction to a local agent.
But the matching process is completely automated, customer support is spotty, and the program doesn’t offer any real value for buyers and sellers beyond the initial agent introduction.
» JUMP TO: Our in-depth analysis of customer reviews
Should I work with a Dave Ramsey ELP realtor?
There’s no harm in trying the Dave Ramsey ELP realtor service. It’s free, and there’s no obligation to work with any of the agents you’re matched with.
That said, we don’t recommend Ramsey’s ELP realtor service, even for Ramsey fans.
There’s no guarantee your agent will know and follow Ramsey principles. The providers in the ELP program aren’t personally vetted and endorsed by Ramsey himself. Rather, they applied to be in the referral network that Ramsey Solutions built to monetize Ramsey’s popularity.
Dave Ramsey realtors are vetted for experience and successful transactions, but they don’t offer any commission savings for sellers or rebates for buyers.
Where can I get better value?
Several low commission companies offer the same no-cost agent matching service with better quality control, customer service, and built-in value, like cost savings.
For example, Clever Real Estate agents must have 5+ years of full-time experience, excellent customer reviews, and a track record of successful transactions. Ideal Agents also has high vetting standards, requiring agents to be in the top 1% in their area in terms of sales volume.
Clever and Ideal Agent also offer realtor fee savings — and those savings are guaranteed no matter which agent you work with. With Clever, you can list with a top agent for 1.5% (half the average commission rate). Eligible buyers can get cash back after closing. With Ideal Agent, you can list for 2%.
What qualifications do ELP realtors have?
Real estate agents in Ramsey’s program must meet the following qualifications to join:
- 3+ years of experience
- About 20 closings annually
- Top 10% performance in their local market
- Has the “heart of a teacher” (willing to explain the reasoning behind their advice)
- Shares “Ramsey values”
Ramsey values for real estate are:
- Purchasing your home with a 20% down payment
- Obtaining a 15-year fixed mortgage
- Ensuring your monthly mortgage payment doesn’t exceed 25% of your monthly income
These values don’t actually have much to do with your realtor. When purchasing a home, you tell the agent your budget, and they show you properties within that range. It’s your call which house you buy.
If your aim is to follow Ramsey’s teachings when buying a home, it makes more sense to partner with a loan officer who understands his principles.
Is Dave Ramsey ELP realtors legit?
The Dave Ramsey ELP real estate service is a licensed brokerage in Tennessee. All agent matching services must be licensed to collect funds from agents, which is how they make money.
Ramsey Solutions has an A– rating with the Better Business Bureau, though it isn’t accredited. It’s been a corporation since 1995.
The Dave Ramsey ELP realtors website says its network includes 2,500 realtors. It claims to have helped 17,000 customers last year.
Ramsey Solutions screens agents before allowing them to join the ELP network, ensuring they meet the minimum experience and sales criteria.
However, realtors are not tested on whether or not they understand the Ramsey-specific requirements. For example, agents simply check a box when they sign up corresponding to the number of Ramsey books they’ve read to indicate they share Ramsey’s values.
🚨 Beware of an agent bait-and-switch
Sometimes, the agent you’re matched with on the Ramsey platform will hand you off to another agent on their team. In fact, of four ELPs who reached out to our mystery shoppers, only one was the actual agent our shopper initially saw on Dave Ramsey’s platform. Three out of four times, our shoppers were handed off by their ELP agent match to another agent in their brokerage.
There’s no guarantee that these other agents have any knowledge of Dave Ramsey or follow his philosophies. This is a drawback for Ramsey fans who want the ELP service to connect them with an agent who shares their values.
Editor’s note
When choosing a realtor, one of the most important things to consider is their experience in your target neighborhood. If you limit yourself to agents within Ramsey’s small ELP network, that’s going to be tough to find. If you use an agent without specialized local knowledge, you may end up selling your home for less or paying more than you need to.
» LEARN: How to Choose a Realtor When Selling | How to Choose a Realtor for Buying
How does Dave Ramsey’s ELP realtor program work?
You can sign up to match with a realtor ELP on the Ramsey Solutions website. It will ask you for information such as:
- Where you plan to buy or sell
- Your timeline
- Your contact information
- Your reason for moving (such as relocating for a new job or downsizing for retirement)
- Whether you have specific concerns about buying or selling
After you sign up, you will immediately receive 2–3 agent matches.
Editor’s note
The ELP matching process is automated. Some alternative services use automation but add a human element to check for accuracy and account for more nuanced needs.
Clever Concierges interact with customers to learn more about their unique circumstances before providing agent matches. This allows them to personalize matches to address specific needs a computer can’t understand. For example, a Concierge may choose an agent who specializes in large rural properties for a buyer interested in a home with room for a hobby farm.
Once you’ve received your matches, a member of the Ramsey Customer Success Team will email introductory information. The agent (or a member of their team) may also reach out at some point to connect.
The ELP program provides details about your agent matches, including:
- Average transaction price
- Average days on market
- List price accuracy
- Number of closings in the past 12 months
- Top areas served
They also detail Ramsey-specific qualifications such as:
- Current Ramsey Baby Step
- Number of Ramsey books read
- Whether they’re a Financial Peace Coordinator or Graduate (this is a course teaching the Ramsey basics)
Once you review your agent matches, you can schedule interviews to get to know them better. You may choose to sign a listing agreement with one of them or walk away with no obligation. If you decide to work with an ELP realtor, the Ramsey Customer Success Team stays in touch to ensure your transaction progresses smoothly.
How much do Dave Ramsey ELP realtors cost?
The Dave Ramsey ELP realtors program is free for buyers and sellers. All agent matching services are.
But if you’re selling, you still need to cover the agent commissions, which are typically 5–6% of the sale price. Half usually goes to your listing agent, and the other half goes to the buyer’s agent.
Editor’s note
On Ramsey’s podcast, he talks about how he personally uses “no commission” financial accounts. Since he’s not a fan of paying high commission rates, it’s interesting that his company doesn’t negotiate a reduced commission rate with his real estate ELPs.
Alternatives, like low commission companies, offer the same service with built-in commission discounts, saving customers thousands of dollars when selling their homes.
For example, Clever Real Estate pre-negotiates a discounted rate of 1.5% with its network of top-rated agents. On the sale of a $400,000 home, customers can save $6,000 compared to a 3% rate!
» Compare top-rated agents in your area who work for a lower commission.
Reviews of Dave Ramsey ELP realtors
We couldn’t find many Dave Ramsey ELP realtor reviews. But we did some deep research and had our mystery shoppers engage with the company to get the lowdown.
Our team found that the Dave Ramsey ELP service for realtors can get you some quick intros to a couple of real estate agents in your general area. The program doesn’t offer a whole lot of value beyond that.
The company doesn’t offer savings like some competitors, its customer service team is hit-or-miss, and there’s no guarantee your agent will even be a Ramsey follower.
Dave Ramsey ELP realtors: Pros and cons
Pros
Cons
- Customer reps know Ramsey-isms but not much else.
- Agent matches aren’t always a good fit.
- There’s no customer dashboard, which makes it difficult to track your matches.
- You don’t get any commission savings or rebates.
- Customer service is hit-or-miss.
- There’s no guarantee your agent will actually share Ramsey values.
✅ Fast and easy agent matching
The Dave Ramey ELP realtor matching process is automated. You’ll receive 2–3 agent matches immediately after signing up.
Automated matching allows you to do your agent search at any time, including outside of business hours, since you don’t have to speak with a concierge first. Some alternative services require this (Ideal Agent and MyAgentFinder, for example) to obtain more nuanced details about your personal needs to inform your matches.
If all you’re looking for is quick access to a couple of local agent names, Dave Ramsey’s ELP service delivers.
✅ Minimum quality criteria enforced for agents
Dave Ramsey’s ELP realtor program requires agents to have 3 years of experience and at least 20 closings in the past 12 months. Unlike competitors such as MyAgentFinder and Fast Expert, the company enforces these requirements. So, you can rest assured that your Ramsey ELP agent matches have some real estate experience and belong to a productive team.
However, it isn’t clear how the ELP service vets agents on its Ramsey-specific criteria, like which Baby Step they’re on or which Ramsey books they’ve read.
⚠️ Customer reps know Ramsey-isms but not much else
Customer Success Team roles at Ramsey Solutions are considered entry-level sales positions, according to a job listing we uncovered. Members of the team are not required to know anything about real estate.
Alternative agent matching services, such as Ideal Agent and Clever, require their concierges to be licensed and knowledgeable about real estate.
While the ELP Customer Success Team might be able to address questions about Ramsey and his approaches, our shoppers felt they did not have any specialized knowledge about real estate or the agents in their network.
⚠️ Agent matches aren’t always on target
Dave Ramsey’s ELP has 2,500 real estate agents in its network. This is on the small size compared to alternatives.
Each shopper received 2–3 matches, which is typical of smaller agent matching services. Realtors were typically from nearby metros for our shoppers in smaller towns and more rural areas, which indicates network coverage is not as robust outside of big cities.
The Customer Success Team complied when one of our mystery shoppers asked for an additional agent match, but it took a few days for them to deliver the match.
When one shopper expressed concern about the large distance between their home and their agent match’s office, the Customer Success Team rep told them that location doesn’t matter when choosing an agent. However, we feel that having specialized neighborhood knowledge is one of the most important things to consider in an agent search. Additionally, this made us suspect that Ramsey’s ELP program matches agents with customers simply based on proximity.
Online forum participants agreed that the quality of their Ramsey ELP agent matches was so-so.
Editor’s note
The Dave Ramsey ELP realtors program announced in June 2021 that it will no longer work with agents from the brokerage eXp (read more). eXp is currently the No. 4 brokerage in the United States in terms of sales volume.
If you decide to choose your agent from the Ramsey ELP network, you may potentially miss out on a significant number of good real estate agents in your local area simply because Ramsey has a personal beef with the eXp brokerage model.
⚠️ No customer dashboard makes it difficult to track matches
When you first sign up for a Dave Ramey ELP realtor, your matches are displayed on a helpful web page that allows you to compare qualifications side by side. However, you can’t reach out to the agents or the Customer Success Team on this page.
Alternative agent matching services, such as HomeLight, give buyers and sellers a custom dashboard where they can view information about their matches, get in touch with agents or customer service reps, and track all communication in one place.
Additionally, other services provide more useful information in their dashboards, such as the location of the agent’s recent sales and their specialties or areas of expertise (like relocation or short sales). All of these details help you make an informed decision when looking for a realtor.
Our shoppers said they preferred to base their agent choices on performance indicators and localized knowledge. Instead, the Ramsey ELP platform’s dashboard focuses on irrelevant details, such as the realtors’ progress with personal financial goals and how many Ramsey books they’ve read.
The ELP service’s dashboard is a step above other agent matching services like MyAgentFinder, which only provides agent contact details via text. But it’s a far cry from others that offer valuable information to help guide customers.
⛔️ No commission savings or rebates for customers
Dave Ramsey ELP realtors don’t offer any cost-saving benefits for sellers or buyers. Alternative agent matching companies offer lower commission rates and home buyer rebates. Because Dave Ramsey is an advocate for financial prudence, we’re surprised his service doesn’t offer these benefits.
Clever Real Estate pre-negotiates a reduced commission rate of 1.5% for sellers and offer cash back for buyers after closing.
Clever’s service is the same free, no-obligation agent matching service at less than half the price. Why would you leave money on the table and choose a Ramsey ELP agent?
💰 Connect with a top agent today! 💰
⛔️ Customer service is hit or miss
Our mystery shoppers reached out to the Ramsey Customer Success Team with varying results.
It took several days to receive email responses, and those responses seemed canned and impersonal.
None of the shoppers’ questions submitted via the Ramsey website’s chat box were answered.
Most of the time, the phone number for the Ramsey Customer Success Team went to voicemail. Only once did a shopper connect via phone with a representative. The Customer Success rep was helpful — they walked the shopper through the agent matching process and clarified some Ramsey-specific terminology.
If you need a customer service person to answer questions and guide you through the agent selection process, Dave Ramsey ELP might not be the best fit for you.
⛔️ No guarantee agents actually share Ramsey values
Dave Ramsey’s ELP service does not vet agents on whether they share Ramsey values. When they sign up, agents simply check a box to indicate things like having “the heart of a teacher.”
Based on the high number of closes required to join the ELP network, most ELP agents are probably members of larger brokerage teams.
A team-based approach can have benefits (coverage even if a certain agent isn’t available) and drawbacks (prone to mistakes when too many cooks are in the kitchen). In this case, we consider it a drawback, because there’s no guarantee you’ll work directly with the agent who Ramsey matched you with. You may be passed off to a junior team member.
Of the four ELP agents who contacted our shoppers, only one was the actual agent who claimed to follow the Ramsey Baby Steps, read his books, and share his values. The other three were teammates of the ELP agent who did not share their personal opinion of Dave Ramsey and his financial approach.
According to some forum users, others have experienced the same.
This left us wondering about the point of the Dave Ramsey ELP realtor service, since three out of four times our shoppers didn’t end up with an agent his company endorsed.
Top alternatives to Dave Ramsey ELP realtors in 2024
Like the Dave Ramsey ELP realtor program, these companies offer a free, no-obligation service that connects you with top local agents. Unlike Ramsey-endorsed agents, the realtors in these networks offer commission savings.
Company | Our Rating | Listing Fee | Availability | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best overall
Clever Real Estate |
Our rating
|
1.5%
Min. $3,000
|
Nationwide
|
Find Agents |
Ideal Agent |
2%
Min. $3,000
|
Nationwide
|
Learn More | |
UpNest |
Our rating
|
Varies by agent
Avg. 2.2%
|
Nationwide
|
Learn More |
Listing Fee
Customer Rating
Our take
Company details
Reviews
Clever Real Estate is the best option for most sellers looking to save on realtor commissions. Its 1.5% listing fee is among the lowest of any full-service, nationwide brand. You’ll save thousands on commission while working with a top local realtor from a well-known brokerage, like RE/MAX and Keller Williams. Read the full Clever Real Estate review.
Pros
- 1.5% listing fee is half the typical rate.
- Agents have strong sales records and great customer reviews.
- Free agent-finding platform with no obligation to sign with a realtor.
Cons
- Certain add-ons like drone photography and staging may cost extra.
- May not get matched with the specific realtor you want if they’re not in Clever’s agent network.
- Service that matches sellers and buyers with full-service real estate agents
- Sellers pay a pre-negotiated 1.5% listing fee (half the average rate) to their realtor after a successful home sale
- Sellers are responsible for paying a competitive buyer’s agent commission, usually 2.5-3% depending on the market
- To join Clever’s network, real estate agents must be top performers in their local market, have 5+ years of experience, and demonstrate a track record of positive customer reviews
- Clever has a 5/5 rating across 3,180 online reviews
- Accredited through the Better Business Bureau and holds an A+ rating
- Agents offer full service and support, including pricing advice, photography, MLS listing and description, negotiation support, etc.
- Eligible buyers receive $250 cash back
Clever has an average customer rating of 5/5 across 3,180 reviews.
- Better Business Bureau: 5/5 (91 reviews, accredited, A+ rating)
- Google: 4.8/5 (303 reviews)
- Trustpilot: 5/5 (2,786 reviews)
Reviews repeatedly highlight commission savings and high-quality agents. Some complaints include confusion over the commission structure.
Listing Fee
Customer Rating
Our take
Company details
Reviews
Ideal Agent is a good choice if you’re looking for a top agent, but you won’t have multiple options. The company claims it works with only the top 1% of realtors by performance, based on sales volume in each agent’s market. But you get only one agent match. Not being able to compare multiple agents is a big risk to consider, as the agent might not be the right fit for your situation. Read the full Ideal Agent review.
Pros
- You get matched with a top-performing realtor
- Discounted 2% listing fee
Cons
- Small agent network; hard to compare options
- Limited coverage outside of big cities
- Savings aren’t competitive compared to other companies
- Platform that matches sellers and buyers with full-service real estate agents
- Company negotiates a 2% listing fee with its realtors, which is slightly less than market value (2.5-3%)
- Sellers are responsible for paying a competitive buyer’s agent commission, usually 2.5-3% depending on the market
- Ideal Agent has a 4.9/5.0 rating across 7,007 reviews
- Accredited through the Better Business Bureau with a A+ rating
- Agents are expected to offer full-service and support, including pricing advice, photography, negotiation support, etc.
- No guaranteed buyer savings
Ideal Agent has an average customer rating of 4.9/5 across 7,007 reviews.
- Better Business Bureau: 5/5 (317 reviews, accredited, A+ rating)
- Google: 4.8/5 (462 reviews)
- Trustpilot: 4.9/5 (6,222 reviews)
- Yelp: 1.8/5 (6 reviews)
Customers are consistently happy with the qualified agents and helpful customer service. Some complaints mention agent matches that weren’t a good fit.
» READ: Our full Ideal Agent review
Listing Fee
Customer Rating
Our take
Company details
Reviews
UpNest is a legitimate agent matching service, but it’s not a great way to save money on realtor fees. It can be a good way to compare real estate agents in your area. But there’s no guarantee you’ll save on real estate commissions because UpNest doesn’t negotiate a lower fee with its agents. Read the full UpNest review.
Pros
- Agents compete for your business, which may result in a lower realtor fee
- Wide selection of experienced, tech-savvy agents
Cons
- Savings for sellers and buyers vary by agent
- Customers complain that it’s hard to get the promised Amazon gift card
- Service quality can vary between agents
- Platform that matches sellers and buyers with full-service real estate agents
- Sellers fill out an online questionnaire and receive agent matches in an online dashboard
- Agents can offer to work for a reduced listing fee, but most charge close to market value (2.5-3%)
- Sellers are responsible for paying a competitive buyer’s agent commission, usually 2.5-3% depending on the market
- UpNest has a 4.6/5.0 rating across 6,934 reviews
- Not accredited through the Better Business Bureau
- Services may vary by agent, but most offer the same general services as traditional real estate agents (pricing advice, photography, negotiation support, etc.)
- No guaranteed buyer savings
UpNest has an average customer rating of 4.6/5 across 6,934 reviews.
- Better Business Bureau: 4.4/5 (33 reviews, not accredited, F rating)
- Google: 4.7/5 (298 reviews)
- ShopperApproved: 4.6/5 (6,603 reviews)
Reviews frequently highlight UpNest agents’ hard work and ability to sell homes quickly. However, some customers had agents who lacked experience and professionalism.
» READ: Our full UpNest review
FAQ
How does Dave Ramsey choose a realtor?
Dave Ramsey has Endorsed Local Provider (ELP) realtors nationwide. However, truly budget-savvy buyers and sellers use low commission companies, some of which offer full-service agents at 1.5% commission.
What is a Dave Ramsey ELP?
ELP stands for "Endorsed Local Provider." ELPs are local professionals, such as real estate agents, tax advisors, and insurance providers, who are familiar with Dave Ramsey's financial approach. Dave Ramsey ELP realtors don't provide commission discounts.
Methodology
We strive to deliver objective reviews. The Real Estate Witch Team and its mystery shoppers spent a collective 1,400+ hours over a six-week period testing and researching agent matching services. Our goal is to help you find an agent who can get you the best possible value when you buy or sell your home.
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