by stating they have an advanced degree in X, I am far from anonymous and you can find out who I am rather easily and know what my qualifications are, I also studied Finance with an emphasis in Personal Financial Planning and have been working in the Real Estate industry for 10+ years on the mortgage side of things, it gives me a bit of perspective, your 1 experience is just that, 1 experience, I have 100's of real estate transactions to pull my data from. While everyone is different when it comes to risk and their appetite for it or their aversion to it, what might be Best Program for you isn't necessarily what EVERYONE will do.

I am sorry you were bitten by a once in a lifetime drop in equity.