VanDyk Mortgage - May 2022

MAY 2022

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

ALIENS, MONSTERS, AND THE INFAMOUS SKUNK APE Do You Think These Weird Things Exist?

My granddad was a pretty creative guy. One day when my mom was little, he went out to the garage and made a couple of casts that looked like the feet of the Florida Bigfoot aka Skunk Ape. Then, he took them out by the lake and squished giant footprints into the mud as a joke.

“Look,” he told my mom, “the skunk ape was here!”

As a kid I loved the skunk ape story, and it’s still pretty funny today. I’d totally forgotten about it until I found out May 3 is National Paranormal Day. The truth is that the Florida Bigfoot and all of the other monsters, cryptids, and creatures out there totally intrigue me. Mysteries like, “How did humans create the pyramids?” and “Could Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster be real?” kept me up at night when I was in grade school. If there was a book fair, I was the guy in the sci-fi section picking out a goofy book about Nessy. Think about it. Science shows us crazy new things all the time. It’s insane how much we’ve learned about outer space, for example, since you and I were kids. Do you remember the “darkest part of the sky” experiment? Back in 1995, an astronomer named Robert Williams decided to point the Hubble Space Telescope at a spot everyone thought was empty, and keep it pointed there for 100 days. The telescope zoomed in more and more, and guess what it found? There were 3,000 galaxies in the one spot of “empty” sky! We’d never seen them before, but they were there the whole time. Discoveries like Williams’ drive me nuts. How arrogant are we to assume our planet is the only one with life on it in all of those galaxies? The odds are so freaking slim! Even the government has started to admit UFOs exist and aliens might, too. (If you missed the big UFO report last year from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, do yourself a favor

and Google it.) Those stories don't even take into account the archaeological discoveries I’ve read about. There’s cave art out there with evidence humans and dinosaurs existed at the same time. What’s next, the Loch Ness monster? I’ve definitely made a joke out of the Florida Bigfoot before just like my granddad did. It’s basically a right of passage to say “Watch out for skunk ape!” when you go fishing in the woods with your buddies, or say “Ahh, it's skunk ape!” to mess with a guy who takes his shirt off to go swimming.

What do you think? Are there aliens and ghosts out there, or would we have caught them on our smartphone cameras by now?

If you have a story about seeing a UFO, hearing your grandma’s ghost, or spotting a skunk ape in the woods, I’d love to hear it. Email your craziest stuff to me at [email protected]. If it sounds legit, I just might put it in the newsletter.

NMLS #354676

P.S. I’ve interviewed the guy who runs Skunk Ape Headquarters in the Everglades, so if you’re worried your story is too weird for me … don’t be. Look it up its on my YouTube Channel.

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AIMING TO KEEP THEM TOGETHER Nonprofit Builds Free Homes for Licensed Foster Families

Studies show that over half of the children in foster care also have a sibling in the foster system. Of those children, more than 75% are separated. In North Carolina, Fostering Hopes joined forces with another nonprofit, H3 Collective, to build foster homes so they can keep large sibling groups together. Some of these homes are big enough to house five children, which is usually the maximum number of children the foster system allows under one roof.

As if living in the foster program isn’t hard enough on a child, being packed up and moved across the state — sometimes counties away from their brothers and sisters — is traumatizing. The goal is to provide children a home where they feel comfortable and safe with enough room for all siblings. Once this initial build is complete, Fostering Hopes and H3 plan to build many more large foster homes in Western North Carolina. They’ve even made the goal of expanding into 10–15 counties in the western part of the state!

Alex Williams, the founder of Fostering Hopes, explained that the need for foster homes and foster parents is so high that, many times, children are sent out of their home county. He estimates that roughly 50% of the 20,000 children in North Carolina’s foster program will be placed outside of their home county. Adam Ponder of H3 Collective was proud to announce that Fostering Hopes and H3 are currently working together on a 3,600-square- foot, five-bedroom home for a licensed

“The intention is to provide hope to children who typically find themselves without it,” Alex Williams told Fox News. “We hope to keep siblings

together, to keep children in their home communities, and to provide dedicated families or parents for

children who need them the most.”

There is no better feeling than helping children grow, thrive, and flourish. The efforts of Fostering Hopes and H3 Collective are inspiring, heartfelt, and are bound to make a difference in the lives of many children and families.

foster family, and the group hopes to have it ready for occupancy this summer.

We’ve all heard the saying, “The book is way better than the movie or TV show.” Movies and TV shows provide you with a great visual representation of the characters and storyline. The films are equally as good as their respective books in their own right. Here are a few films inspired by books that you should check out. TIME TO BE A MOVIE CRITIC! 3 Motion Pictures Inspired by Books

‘The Ultimate Evil: The Search for the Sons of Sam’ There are a lot of conspiracy theories about the Son of Sam and his crimes. Some have argued that David Berkowitz didn’t commit these crimes alone — and they have evidence to prove it. Follow along with journalist Maury Terry as he makes his way down the rabbit holes of this case. There is more to this crime than what appeared in the media, such as cult practices and ties to other cases like Charles Manson and his family. ‘Looking for Alaska’ John Green has captured the hearts of millions of readers across the world, and now there is a movie inspired by his first novel, “Looking for Alaska.” This coming-of-age story follows a teenage boy as he searches for the meaning of life. Then, a sudden tragedy strikes, and the boy and his friends must come to terms with the event. The movie shows the emotion, grief, and love the boy deals with on his journey. Pull out your tissues for this film; it’s sure to be a tear-jerker. You don’t need to read the books first in order to watch the TV show or movie — these films can stand on their own. These are only a few of the many movies and TV shows that are based on bestselling books. Now it’s time for you to be the judge and determine if the books are, in fact, better than their films.

‘The Shining’ 3-Part Miniseries

This is one of Stephen King’s most famous novels. There is even a much-acclaimed 1980 movie based on the book. But did you know that Stephen King directed and produced his own miniseries? The three one-hour episodes

follow the book precisely and provide more information on the characters. Spoiler alert: There are no twins or garden maze in this series, but there are moving topiary hedges!

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also looked at their credit score, employment history, savings, and level of risk. Think of pre-underwriting as an extra level of security. It’s basically our way of telling the listing agent, “This borrower is totally, completely, 100% good to go.” 2. Second, when our buyer makes an offer, we call the Listing Agent and we explain that we had them fully underwritten AND approved BUT we are also a local lender. Listing agents love working with local lenders because we know how the local market works. We’re not going to freak out about something perfectly normal in Florida because “they don’t do that where we’re from!” Plus, because we’re local, we’re in the same time zone and they won’t have any trouble reaching us. Finally, local lenders like us stay with each loan from contract to close. Those are big perks from a listing agent’s perspective.

Now you know why one phone call from my team to the listing agent can make or break an offer’s acceptance. These two steps make the listing agent and seller comfortable with the deal. If you’re a buyer or have a buyer out there in this competitive market and they’re having a hard time getting a listing agent to bite, you can use these two tactics to change their mind. My team and I will be happy to put these not-so-secret weapons to work for you or the buyer you’re helping. In this “supercharged” and super competitive housing market, you can (and should) use every edge you can get. If you’re not a real estate agent and you’re already set in your dream house, pass this newsletter on to a friend or family member who is house hunting. I bet they’ll appreciate the tips.

I also make calls for buyers who are pre-approved but have not been underwritten yet, and it still helps.

NMLS #354676

SUDOKU

Solution on Pg. 4

Trivia Question : who discovered over 3,000 galaxies with the Hubble telescope experiment?

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

Aliens Are Real! (Maybe) PAGE 1

A Blessing for Foster Families

Are the Books Better Than the Films? PAGE 2

Testimonial From the Hart PAGE 3

Our Secret Approval Weapon PAGE 4

THE SECRET WEAPON HELPS OUR BORROWERS’ OFFERS GET ACCEPTED

According to Florida Trend, our housing market is “supercharged” right now. The term sounds like something straight out of the superhero movies I love to watch, but it’s also completely true.

How did we do it in such a competitive market? Well, our secret weapon has two parts. 1. First, when the buyer’s timeframe allows, we go deeper than a pre-approval by having the file fully underwritten and approved.

The market in Florida is insanely competitive. Every real estate agent I work with knows it. In a market like this, it’s a HUGE deal for a client’s contract on a house to be accepted — and yet last week alon e, I heard from three different Realtors who all told me that my team helped make that miracle happen.

Pre-underwriting isn’t required, but listing agents love it. When a buyer

is pre-underwritten, that means not only have we gone over their tax returns, pay stubs, W-2s, bank statements, and all of that, but we’ve

CONTINUED ON PG. 3 ...

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

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