VanDyk Mortgage - July 2018

July 2018

Letters From The Hart Give us a call! 239-437-4278 Or visit www.TimHartJr.com Corporate NMLS #3035 www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org

TIM HART AND THE 5TH GRADERS Teaching 5th-Graders About Business for ‘Junior Achievement’

Last month, I wrapped up my role as the Junior Achievement volunteer for my son’s — and the awesome Mr. Schwann’s — fifth-grade class at Saint Michael Lutheran School (SMLS). It was a pretty incredible experience teaching this group of kids all about business, career building, innovation, and how people carve out a living in the midst of this crazy world. Across five classroom sessions in the mornings over five weeks, I had the opportunity to engage in dozens of fascinating conversations and activities with these sharp kids. I probably learned as much from them as they did from me. If you haven’t heard of it before, Junior Achievement is a national program dedicated to equipping K–12 kids with the tools they’ll need to survive in the contemporary business climate. A few months ago, I saw the email go out asking for volunteers to teach the Junior Achievement curriculum to kids at SMLS. Since I knew a lot of the kids in his class, I thought it would be a valuable experience for all of us. This particular program was split into five different main topics: “Free to Choose Your Work or Business,” “Innovation Nation,” “Career Quest,” “Get and Keep the Job,” and “Global Connections.” I have got say that I was a little nervous going in there the first morning. I’ve seen what kids can do to a substitute teacher. Luckily, my years of coaching kids held fast, and I really felt like we had some fantastic conversations. As a father of three, I already know that kids are a lot smarter than most people give them credit for, but it was still cool to see their minds working during these lessons. I did my best to convey the huge range of options they have for their future careers and the millions of different ways they can find fulfilling work. I think my experience and college-free background were kind of a wake-up call for a few of them. Hopefully they realized that, while college can be great for certain kinds of people, it’s not an absolute necessity for everyone — not that they’ll be making that decision anytime soon. Throughout the lessons, I tried to stress that, above

all else, hard work, a positive attitude, and a good moral compass will get you furthest in life.

As I said, it was an awesome experience full of laughs and surprising insights. It was especially interesting to see my son Mason in his natural element, interacting with his peers. It’s always heartening to discover firsthand that your kid gets along with everyone else — even when he tries to be captain comedian in the middle of the lesson you’ve so carefully prepared. When we were handing out the Junior Achievement certificates at the end of the last session, he faked like he was crying while accepting the award, gave me a big hug, and said, “I love you, Daddy!” Anything for a laugh with this one — I guess the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. I would do the whole thing again in a heartbeat. And hey, maybe I’ll have the chance with one of my two younger kids’ classes down the road. Either way, I’m so glad that I got the opportunity to coach these kids on the intricacies of business and encourage them that, no matter what they choose to do, they can achieve their goals with some serious hustle and dedication.

NMLS #354676

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MEET LEWIS WORRALL, MASTER ELECTRICIAN

Feelings are a good thing. Companies want to hire people who have high emotional intelligence, and emotions are what differentiates you from an electronic device that can even mimic your voice. But what happens when your feelings overwhelm you? Anyone who’s awoken in the middle of the night with a racing heart and panicked thoughts can relate to this. And it may be what’s keeping you from achieving your goals. Brianna Wiest, who writes about emotional intelligence, suggests that by organizing our emotions, we can use them to reach our goals. By using aspects of cognitive behavioral therapy and learning to organize your emotions to reach your goals, you can prevent them from controlling you. As Wiest says, you’ll learn “where they come from, whether or not they serve you, and what they are trying to tell you.” If you’re in the Cape Coral/Fort Myers area and you’re in need of a trustworthy electrician, you can’t do better than Lewis Worrall and his team at Always Affordable Electric. Lewis has worked with Tim Hart in the past, providing top-notch electrical work in every home Tim has ever owned. Over the years, Lewis has become Tim’s trusted business colleague and friend. But most importantly, Lewis operates Always Affordable Electric with only the highest standard of service and integrity, ensuring his team leaves every one of his customers safe and totally satisfied after finishing a job. “The best part of running this business is just making people happy,” Lewis says. “It’s a good feeling when you help a customer rewire and remodel their high-end kitchen, and you can see them breathe that sigh of relief when they see the finished product.”

Track Your Feelings Start by making this part of your morning routine: When you wake up, acknowledge how you are feeling. If it helps, write down a bulleted list of your feelings. Use “I feel” statements. You might write, “I feel anxious about everything I have to get done today,” or, “I feel happy that I get to work on the new project today.” Identify Sources Are there certain triggers — people, activities, habits — that always cause you to feel a certain way? Which of those are propelling you to achieve your goals, and which are hampering that progress? Make a list of everything that’s causing you stress — going to your doctor’s appointment, talking to your financial planner, calling back your mom — and mark a specific day and time that week to review your list. Chances are, when you come back to it, you’ll find that most of the items on the list weren’t really worth Lewis prides his company on delivering powerful results while keeping the attentive, customer-centric atmosphere you only get with a local business. “A lot of similar businesses keep their customers in the dark — you’re always dealing with a salesperson or a worker who’s completely out of the loop,” he says. “That’s not the way we do things. Whenever our team goes out on a job, they’re joined by one of our owners, usually from the beginning of the process to the very end.” That means there’s always a highly experienced technician on site ensuring that customers get precisely the service they need, expect, and deserve. During the job and after it’s done, the Always Affordable team will give out their personal cellphone numbers so customers can reach them with any question or concern they may have.

We’re proud to spotlight Lewis and Always Affordable Electric in this month’s newsletter, and we hope that you seek them out if you’re in need of any electrical work in the months to come. Give Lewis and his team a call at 239-229-6377 and get the most dependable, friendly, and skilled electricians in town on your side. TRIVIA QUESTION: WHAT GRADE DID TIM TEACH FOR JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT?

THE KEY TO SUCCESS: EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

worrying about. For every item that’s still a source of stress, make an action plan for how and when you’ll resolve it. For those worries that can be dealt with immediately, note how much satisfaction you get from taking care of them. Let Your Schedule Honor Your Feelings Wiest points out that people often have an all-or-nothing mentality. Many think, “I feel great today, so I’m going to get all my work done!” Or, “I’m tired today, so I’m going to put all my work off for tomorrow.” The problem is that this mentality is not sustainable. If you track your emotions, you’ll understand how they influence your behavior. For example, if you notice that you feel a certain emotion during afternoon meetings, see if you can shift them to the morning. Implement these strategies today and allow your emotions to nurture rather than restrict your goals.

VanDyk Mortgage | www.TimHartJr.com | 239-437-4278

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Unpacking This Vital Number CALCULATING YOUR DEBT-TO-INCOME RATIOS

Then there’s the back-end, or total, ratio , which shows the percentage of your income needed to cover all your recurring debt obligations. To find this number, add up your estimated house payment and the entirety of your monthly debt expenses — the required minimum payments for every one of your loans — then divide it by your gross income. Ideally, this should be 43 percent or less, so you can use the same strategy as above to calculate your upper limit. Of course, there’s always room for interpretation of these guidelines. Make sure to review your personal income and employment scenario in detail with a trusted mortgage professional to ensure everything adds up. Feel free to give Tim Hart a call at 239-437-4278, and he’ll guide you through the process.

When you’re looking to buy your first house, it can be difficult to determine just how much home you can really afford. But by calculating and breaking down your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio , you can get a decent idea of your general price range. Underwriters actually review two different DTI ratios to determine if your monthly income is sufficient enough to cover the responsibility of a mortgage, according to the particular lender/mortgage program guidelines. By understanding how the ratio works and what it means, you can come to grips with one of the most important factors for getting approved for your loan. First, there’s your front-end, or housing, ratio , which shows what percentage of your income would go to your housing expenses. To find this, your first step is to calculate your gross monthly income. Add

up every penny you earn monthly before taxes and other deductions are taken out. Then take the estimated monthly mortgage payment and divide it by your gross monthly income. After you convert this number to a percentage, you can see what chunk those mortgage payments will take out of your gross income each month. Most lenders prefer your front-end ratio to be around 28–31 percent. If you’re trying to calculate the maximum you can reasonably afford to spend on a mortgage with your current income (according to the lender), you can simply multiply your gross income by 0.31 and come up with a rough figure. So if your gross income is $5,000, you multiply that by 0.31 and come up with $1,550 — your monthly principal, interest, taxes, and insurance can’t exceed this number.

WORD SEARCH

VanDyk Testimonial

“I cannot say enough about Timothy Hart, Lisa Myers, and Lucas Breen. My

family received the most knowledgeable, personal, and professional assistance with our mortgage. Though it sometimes seemed like a never-ending roller coaster ride of emotion, they were there for us at every step and always made sure we were comfortable in the process. VanDyk Mortgage is a fantastic company, as represented by these three individuals. I will recommend them to anyone.” –Elbert & Christine Forsythe

Thank you, Lucas Breen with Porter Davis Real Estate, for the referral!

Independence Day Barbecue Freedom America

Washington Revolution Parade Fireworks

Colonial July USA Congress

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PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

Answer the question on page 2 and win a dinner for two at Zaxby’s in Fort Myers!

Give us a call! 239-437-4278 Or visit www.TimHartJr.com

Inside This Issue 8280 College Parkway Suite #101 Fort Myers, FL 33919

Tim Hart and the 5th Graders PAGE 1

Meet Lewis Worrall, Head of Always Affordable Electric

Are Your Emotions Preventing Your Success? PAGE 2

How to Calculate Your Debt-to-Income Ratios

July Testimonial

Word Search PAGE 3

The History of Hot Dogs and Burgers PAGE 4

How Hot Dogs and Hamburgers Became National Treasures THIS AMERICAN GRUB

The Burger Like the hot dog, the exact origin of the beef patty’s eventual “sandwiching” is lost to history. Once again, it was German immigrants who brought their recipes for “Hamburg steak” with them across the Atlantic, but reports vary as to who first sold the meat patty inside a bun. Multiple diners and fairgrounds across America claim to be the home of the first hamburger. All of these claims date to the turn of the 20th century, a time when our nation was faced with feeding a growing working class quickly and cheaply. By the 1950s, the burger had become a symbol of the American everyman. Both the hot dog and hamburger embody the history of our nation. Immigrant traditions merged with blue-collar needs to create two uniquely American foods. It’s fitting that we celebrate America’s birthday with the grub that has grown along with it.

American soil in the 1800s. There is much debate over who first decided to place one of these franks in a bun, but by the opening of the 20th century, hot dog stands had popped up all over the Eastern Seaboard. We do know the identity of the man who took the hot dog’s popularity to a national level: Nathan Handwerker. A Jewish immigrant from Poland, Nathan sliced buns for a hot dog stand on Coney Island. After scraping together enough money, he quit his job and opened a stand of his own, undercutting his former employer’s prices by half. Not only did Nathan’s hot dogs outsell the competition, the Great Depression made them the perfect food for a nation suddenly living on a tight budget. By the 1930s, hot dogs had become so unquestionably American that Franklin Roosevelt famously served them to King George VI during his royal visit in 1939.

Jenevieve Perry

If your plans for this Independence Day involve firing up the barbecue, you’ll probably be cooking two American classics: hot dogs and hamburgers. Come the Fourth of July, families will be grilling up burgers and dogs from sea to shining sea, but it wasn’t always this way. The story of how beef patties and sausages became culinary symbols of our nation will give you plenty of

food for thought. The Hot Dog

It was German immigrants who brought the “frankfurter” and the “wienerwurst” to

VanDyk Mortgage | www.TimHartJr.com | 239-437-4278

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