VanDyk Mortgage - July 2022

JULY 2022

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

LOVE NOTES FROM GOOD FRIENDS (AND BARBIE)

What 2 Realtors Have to Say About My Team

A few months ago, I put up a video on my Tim Hart Loan Officer YouTube channel spoofing the Rocket Mortgage Super Bowl commercial — and you guys loved it! I really appreciate all of the comments and views. For those of you who didn’t see it, if you watched the Super Bowl back in February, you might remember the original. It was all about Barbie using a “verified approval” from Rocket Mortgage to buy the Barbie Dreamhouse Dollhouse. The ad talked about the competitive market, and thanks to Rocket Mortgage, Barbie could buy the house out from under “bad guys” like “Better Offer Betty," “Cash Offer Carl,” and “House Flipper Skipper.” I was over at a friend’s house watching the Super Bowl when I saw the ad, and I knew right away I had to mess with it. Honestly, it was a really great commercial … but it had a few issues with reality. The main one was the claim that sellers would accept a preapproval from Rocket Mortgage over a cash buyer (Cash Offer Carl). It’s just not true. Sellers and real estate agents do not trust online lenders and big box banks in this market. I couldn’t resist: I found a few dolls and figured out how to do a Barbie voice. I played all of the parts and acted out Barbie’s real estate agent, chucking the Rocket Mortgage approval straight into the trash. Then, Barbie called me for help instead! My team was laughing the entire time.

My little skit was a pretty silly way to show it, but sellers and real estate agents really do prefer to work with local lenders like us. We’re available, we communicate well (we actually call/text the seller's agent, buyer’s agent, and buyer every single Tuesday during the loan process for a “Tuesdays With Tim” update), and we fully underwrite our preapprovals. The real estate agents we work with really appreciate this. In fact, they’ve left us some love notes. I want to share two of them, both from great agents with whom I’ve worked for years. “Tim has a good team in place, and the communication is always there. It’s nice that if you have a problem or a question or anything, you can get somebody on the phone. If they don’t know [the answer], they get back to you rather quickly. I’ve never waited days for VanDyk to respond to something. … Tim does a great job. I have nothing bad to say about his team. They are fantastic, and I’m happy to do business with them any time I can.” –Jacob Meyer, broker with BB&C Realty “I love the fact that Tim is local — he has roots here and his team has roots here. That matters, especially in the ridiculous market we’ve been in for the last two years. … I’ve won a lot of my buyers’ deals because the seller knew Tim and his team. They’d either worked with them before or were aware of the name. They knew they were right

here in Florida, they were accessible, and they could walk right into their office, because Tim reached out and made personal phone calls, or his team reached out and made personal phone calls. That’s really important. … Tim and I have a 100% success rate, and that’s huge!” –Tracie Hurley, real estate professional with Coldwell Banker I’ve worked with Jacob for 10 years and Tracie for eight. They know their stuff, and when they give a compliment, they mean it. I know if they ever had Barbie as a client (ha ha), they’d work with us to get that dream house instead of a big box bank like Rocket Mortgage — and we’d actually make it happen. If you’re a real estate agent (or know one) and you want to read more about the perks of working with me and my team, check out Pg. 4 for more details.

NMLS #354676

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

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READY TO SUCCEED 3 Important Life Skills to Teach Your Teen

Leaving the nest can be tough for young adults. There are so many things to remember, like making sure they have all the right supplies and remembering to keep important paperwork. So, before your child heads off to college, help them strengthen these three skills. How to Ask for Help Being capable starts with understanding what you need and asking for it. By having your child order their own food at a restaurant, make medical and dental appointments for themselves, and check out at the supermarket alone, you’ll be helping your child develop independence while encouraging them to take the lead. How to Seamlessly Get From Point A to Point B When your teen leaves the house, they’ll be traveling on their own on a bus, on a plane, by car, and by foot, so they’ll need to understand how to navigate airports, subway stations, bus When you need a break from your busy life, you probably look at your cellphone. And when you need a break from your cellphone, you might watch TV or browse social media on your other devices. This cycle of never-ending screens can be taxing on your mental health. Everyone hits their breaking point at a different time, and you may not even realize when you’ve reached your limit. If you find yourself getting angry or upset at posted content, consistently comparing yourself to others, or feeling depressed, it may be time for a digital detox. But what is a digital detox? It’s taking a break from electronic devices, such as your cellphone or tablet, and mindlessly scrolling through social media or news stories. IS IT TIME FOR A DIGITAL DETOX?

hubs, and roads. Ask your child to give you directions when describing how to get to the mall or have them even drive you there if they are licensed. This will reduce stress during solo travels, and they’re less likely to feel overwhelmed if plans unexpectedly change. How to Handle Emergencies When children are fairly young, they learn how to call 911 in the event of life-threatening and serious emergencies. But other emergencies tend to pop up in life that don’t necessarily warrant a call to the police. Show your child how to put on a spare tire, turn off utilities, patch a hole in clothing, and other basic but necessary skills so they don’t panic when something goes wrong in their dorm room or on the road. As a parent, it’s your job to teach your children the right skills to set them up for success and independence so they can take care of themselves when they finally go off on their own.

Now that you know what it is, how can you detox yourself?

• Schedule a break from your devices. Even if it’s just for a half-hour, use the time to do other activities, such as exercise, household chores, or even gardening. • Turn off notifications. Constant notifications can be incredibly distracting, so silencing them allows us to focus more on our surroundings.

• Disconnect before bedtime. Turn off all electronics an hour before you go to sleep to relax your body and mind.

Another benefit is that you’ll feel less stressed, especially if you compare yourself to others on social media or get lost in negative news cycles. Perhaps the most notable benefit of a digital detox is reclaiming your own time. Checking your cellphone and scrolling through social media can quickly become a subconscious habit. Before you know it, an hour or two has passed. Even watching television can take up huge chunks of your day. With a digital detox, you get that time back, and you can reallocate it to healthier activities.

If you feel like you need a break from your electronic devices, take one. It could lead to a healthier and happier life.

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

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... CONTINUED FROM PG. 4

3 Reasons to Refer to VanDyk Mortgage 1. We’re available. VanDyk Mortgage isn’t a big box bank like Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, or Quicken. We’re a small team of real people who real estate agents can connect with easily. If a real estate agent is local, they can walk right into our office, and we’ll be thrilled to see them. If they’re in one of our other states, we’re still there to help any time over the phone, via text, or on Zoom. With us, agents and their buyers aren’t just numbers moving through a pipeline. We actually care, learn names, and answer the phone. This is a huge perk with sellers because we’re available to them, too. Answering the phone can make the difference between a winning offer and a losing one. 2. We communicate. Like I said, we’re available, but we also communicate proactively. My team and I always explain our loan process to the listing agent, tell them about the borrower, and let them know they can call me any time. Then we keep everyone who is part of the process up to date the entire time. When a buyer makes an offer, I convey that to the listing agent and let them know I’ll be calling them, the buyer’s agent, AND the buyer every Tuesday with an update on their transaction. I call these my “Tuesday With Tim” calls and I never miss them. At the same time, my team sends out a PDF update every week to all parties involved. The PDF includes all of the important dates, like

when the title was ordered, when it was received, and more. We also send out video email updates throughout the entire process. And, of course, when the loan is submitted to processing … everyone gets an update. We never leave anyone hanging or slow things down by making them wait on us. 3. We fully underwrite our preapprovals. We don’t just offer preapprovals — we fully underwrite those preapprovals. That means we're collecting pay stubs, W-2s, tax returns, and everything else we need to actually start the mortgage process before the buyer’s offer is accepted. We’ll underwrite and approve the borrower’s entire file, which gives them backing that’s as close to a cash offer as you can get. Underwriting basically gives the buyer a head start, which is key in a competitive market. Because of these three things, our deals win, which means our borrowers get their dream homes, and our real estate partners get paid. If you know a real estate agent in Michigan, Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina, Indiana, Pennsylvania, or here in Florida, please share this list and ask them to refer their buyers to my team. We’ll take good care of them.

NMLS #354676

SUDOKU

Solution on Pg. 4

Trivia Question : Who was Barbie competing against to buy the Dreamhouse?

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

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PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

Tim Hart, NMLS #354676 8280 College Parkway, Suite #101 Fort Myers, FL 33919

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

Inside This Issue

Barbie Gets a Better Mortgage PAGE 1

Teen Life Skills

The Benefits of a Digital Detox PAGE 2

Testimonial From the Hart PAGE 3

Calling All Real Estate Agents PAGE 4

WE NEED YOUR HELP! SEND YOUR REALTOR FRIENDS OUR WAY

I’ll come right out and say it: My team and I need your help.

You might remember we’ve done a big push this year to expand our licensing. As I write this, we’re licensed mortgage lenders in a bunch of states, including Michigan, Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and of course, here in Florida. Lending all over the country has been an awesome experience. We’ve already helped dozens of out-of-staters get into their dream homes. The trouble is that we don’t have many realtor friends in those other states to help us do it. Our Real Estate Agent Problem Here in Florida, we have longstanding partnerships with a lot of fantastic real estate agents. (You can read notes from two of them on Page 1 of this newsletter.) I’ve worked with some of these guys for five years, 10 years, or even longer. There are a couple of reasons they like collaborating with my team, and I’ve put the big ones in this article.

I’d really appreciate it if you shared this list of perks with any real estate agents you might know in the states we’ve just been licensed in — or right here at home. It would really help us get the word out, and it would also help them close more deals for their buyers. Keep reading to find out why!

CONTINUED ON PG. 3 ...

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

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