VanDyk Mortgage - October 2019

VanDyk Mortgage - October 2019

OCTOBER 2019

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

UNCLE TOMMY’S CHAINSAW The Best Halloween Story

B ack when I was around 11 years old, my parents had a house in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by a lot of land. For several years straight, we threw a big Halloween party at our house. My dad even hooked up a tractor to a trailer full of hay and gave us all hayrides. Next to Christmas and my birthday, this party was the highlight of the year.

Still, nothing happened.

To me, it was obviously a chainsaw trying to start. Uncle Tommy tried to get that thing to start up two more times before we heard my uncle saying a few choice swear words. After a few seconds, he came out of the woods with his broken chainsaw, looking so dejected. Dad stopped the tractor for him to get a ride back to the house with us. Trying to salvage some of his pride, Uncle Tommy ran and

Any decent Halloween party includes costumes, so each year, everyone showed up at our house dressed to impress. I remember one year when my dad’s brother, Uncle Tommy, showed up to the party dressed in all leather. We’re talking leather pants, leather jacket, the whole nine yards. He and his wife were supposed to be bikers, but looking back on it now, Uncle Tommy looked like the missing member of The Village People. That was the same year Uncle Tommy decided to make the night memorable by pulling a prank during the hayride.

jumped up onto the back of the trailer. It would have been a cool move had his ridiculous leather pants not ripped from front to back. I swear the sound of his pants tearing was louder than his chainsaw! They looked like Hulk Hogan had grabbed the sides and ripped them in two. There were 30 people on the hayride, and a lot of them saw more of my uncle than they ever wanted to. Poor

Uncle Tommy had to ride in the hay with his ripped Halloween pants and broken chainsaw, wearing a biker hat all the way back to the house. Fortunately, Dad gave him something different to wear for the rest of the party. Uncle Tommy had managed to make that Halloween party memorable, just not in the way he would have liked. Every year, my mom tells this story to my kids around Halloween, and they go wild with laughter. My kids never got to meet Uncle Tommy, who passed away when I was 14 years old, but his memory lives on in the many stories he left behind and the lessons he taught us. For example, if you’re going to wear leather on Halloween, avoid any acrobatics.

That night, after we all piled into the hay-filled trailer, Uncle Tommy sneaked off and propped himself up in the woods. Dad was in on the prank, so the plan was for him to bring the trailer close to where Uncle Tommy hid so my uncle could jump out and scare everyone on the hayride. Uncle Tommy even had a chainsaw — without the chain, of course — ready to really terrorize us all. Unfortunately for Uncle Tommy, things didn’t work out quite as planned.

As we rode through the woods that night, I remember suddenly hearing a loud rumble out in the dark.

VRUMMM!

But nothing happened

NMLS #354676

VRUMMM!

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Hayrides and Headless Horsemen Halloween Celebrations in Sleepy Hollow

Another highly anticipated stop for many guests is Sleepy Hollow’s premier annual attraction, Horseman's Hollow, an experience not for the faint of heart. During the event, the 300-year-old Philipsburg Manor is transformed into a living nightmare, where vampires, witches, ghouls, and undead soldiers lurk in the shadows. They all serve the dreaded Headless Horseman and are determined to make sure guests don’t leave alive! But it’s not all scares in Sleepy Hollow. There’s plenty of Halloween fun for all ages. Sleepy Hollow boasts relaxing hayrides, tours of Irving’s home, live readings of famous Halloween stories, performances of a brand-new musical based on Irving’s spooky tale, and the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze, an incredible exhibition of over 7,000 hand- carved pumpkins. If you want a real Halloween experience, you can’t go wrong in Sleepy Hollow. Just be careful not to lose your head!

“arm prints” as the trunks and branches. Paint the leaves you found to spruce up your trees or use them as decorations on their own. You can also use them for leaf printing or leaf pressing. Fun Finger Food When you’ve got multiple friends and family members coming over and you need snacks, edible decorations are the way to go. You can get a little creative and make elaborate treats, or you can opt for delicious and easy-to- make finger foods with your kids. A good starting treat for your family is a batch of pumpkin Rice Krispie Treats. Add orange food coloring to the mix and get your kids to shape the treats like pumpkins before using a few pretzel sticks to make sturdy stems. Thanksgiving Crafts Thanksgiving is only a month away, and your possibilities for holiday-themed crafts are endless with This story, first published in 1820, has become a Halloween favorite. The legend is so beloved that in 1997, the village of North Tarrytown, New York, where many events of the story take place, officially changed its name to Sleepy Hollow. Today, the town becomes one big Halloween party during the month of October. Sleepy Hollow is home to many historic landmarks, including the Headless Horseman Bridge and the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, where Washington Irving himself was laid to rest. Evening lantern tours of the cemetery are a popular attraction, and Irving isn’t the only spooky celebrity buried there. Fans of the Gothic soap opera “Dark Shadows” will be delighted to enter the crypt of famed vampire Barnabas Collins.

In 1790, a school teacher named Ichabod Crane was riding home alone from a harvest festival in the village of Sleepy Hollow when he encountered a mysterious rider on horseback. Crane, horrified by the horseman’s missing head, turned and ran in the opposite direction. The Headless Horseman gave chase, hurling his own decapitated head at the terrified teacher. Ichabod Crane was never heard from again ... or so goes “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving.

Fall Family Fun Decorate Your House With Your Own Creations!

The leaves are turning, the weather is changing, and the holidays are right around the corner, which means it’s time to bring out the fall decor! To make this season especially memorable for your family, create your own decorations with these fun ideas below. Pine Cone Painting Go on a family walk through the park to pick up a few fallen pine cones or take a quick trip to the store to buy a bag. Once everyone has their own hand-picked pine cone, grab a paintbrush and a few colors and have at it! For extra flair, add some fixings like glitter, beads, sequins, string, and more. Leaf Painting Take a trip outside with the kids to pick out some large, unbroken leaves, then head back inside and get creative! You can pull out the construction paper and paint trees, using handprints and

just a few supplies like paper, scissors, markers, and string. You can make turkey placemats, tissue paper trees, pumpkin garlands, paper pumpkins, or leaf mobiles to hang from the ceiling. Compile a list of ideas and have your kids pick out which craft they want to do first, then get to work together to create as many decorations as you want to display for Turkey Day. With these engaging craft ideas, the whole family will be eager to make their own decorations and show them off for months to come!

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VanDyk Testimonial "Tim. Is. The. Best. He is an intelligent, roll-up-his-sleeves guy who gets the job done — and with a smile. He managed to communicate from our initial meeting until our closing what was taking place, with regular updates, texts, emails, and videos, proving his experience and determination for excellence along the way. It was not lost on me that he is a man who appreciates the value of time and communicating efficiently and effectively while working with a team that is thorough and polite." –Eric Raddatz Ray and his wife went from broke as a joke to millionaires. After going through every stage of having, losing, and making money, this is the advice Ray gives: Learn to Manage Your Two Businesses “Everyone has two businesses, even if you’re an employee for someone else. You have your job business, and you have your money business. Most people struggle because they don’t look at their money as a business, so they aren’t putting their money to work. This is a problem because most people aren't going to be about to retire off their active income. “How are you leveraging your money? What are you doing with your money so you can retire? How is your money working for you? What can you do to make money that doesn’t demand your constant time? I make videos every day, but if that’s all I did, then I would be solely dependent on my time to make money. That’s not a good business plan. “My wife and I wrote a book together, ‘Freakishly Effective Social Media for Network Marketing.’ Writing the book demanded time, but since then, it’s sold thousands of copies. I believe all experts should write a book or film a course or something they can sell that, after the initial investment, will make money without demanding 100% of their time. That’s how you treat money like a business.” Be a Good Money Steward “Back in my real estate days, I couldn’t tell you my numbers. I had money coming in, so I kept putting money out. I wasn’t a good steward, and someone who’s not a good steward deserves to lose their sheep. Which is exactly what happened to me. “My wife has definitely helped me learn to be a better steward when it comes to money. Today, we have two very important accounts — our investment account and our giving account. A percentage of every single dollar that comes in goes to one of these accounts. The investment account is what we invest with, and the giving account is what we use to purposely find charities or causes to support. I realized I wanted to be the kind of person who was able to give money at charity auctions, which means I need to pay attention to what’s going on with my money. “Regardless of how much money you make, everyone should learn how to be a better steward. I’m very grateful for foreclosure; I’m very grateful for losing it all. Because it

made me so much more appreciative of money and taught me how to think about money.” Have the Right Mindset “Hollywood and politicians warn about ‘greedy rich people.’ They’ve created this idea that everyone who has a lot of money made it off the backs of others or by duping people. But every politician who has ever condemned the rich is rich themselves! “If you believe that rich people are greedy and evil, you’re never going to become something you hate. Money is just a magnifier. If you’re a jerk and you make a lot of money, you’re going to turn into a bigger jerk. Trust me, I went through that myself. But money can also be a magnifier for good. If you are someone who likes to help people and wants to make a difference, then money gives you the capital to make a positive impact. You have to have the right mindset about money.” Ray has the kind of inspiring story that reminds us of what we can accomplish when we put in the work. I highly recommend listening to our full conversation to hear the scope of what Ray has achieved and get his top three book recommendations. You can find Ray Hidgon’s episode of “The HartBeat Show” at TimHartJr.com.

SUDOKU

Eric and his family are happy homeowners!

Solution on pg. 4

TRIVIA QUESTION: What is Tim's uncle's name?

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Inside This Issue 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

Halloween Prank Gone Wrong PAGE 1

The Real Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Fall Crafts for the Whole Family PAGE 2

Testimonials PAGE 3

Could You Come Back After Losing It All? PAGE 4

From Personal Foreclosure to Millionaire RAY HIGDON’S MILLIONAIRE MINDSET

Like many of us, Ray was hit hard by the real estate bust. While his partner went back to the corporate world, Ray spent every

“I’m very grateful for foreclosure. I’m very grateful for losing it all.” Nine times out of 10, if someone said something as crazy as this, I would take their car keys, because clearly, they aren’t in any state to drive. But I heard these words from my friend Ray Higdon, a man who went from losing everything in personal foreclosure to being a millionaire. Not long ago, I invited Ray onto “The HartBeat Show” to share his incredible story. “I was doing what I thought I should be doing,” Ray begins. “What everyone told me I should be doing: working hard and working my way up the corporate ladder. The harder I worked, the more the company would pay me, but they also demanded more of me. There were times when work had me last-minute canceling family vacations and missing school functions. I was spending more time with pictures of my kids than the real thing. That’s not where I wanted to be.” In 2004, Ray saw his “knucklehead friends from high school” killing it in real estate. By April 2005, Ray got his real estate license, left the corporate world, partnered up with another guy, and started doing real estate in Fort Myers. “Things were rocking and rolling in the market,” Ray told me. “To be honest, I got kind of full of myself. That’s not a good mix. Toward the end of 2007, there were signs that something was awry.”

last dime trying to get it all back. He lost his house, went through a divorce, and ended up millions of dollars in debt while sleeping on a friend’s couch. “After a few years of struggle, I was invited to a home meeting in 2009. It was for a network marketing company, which I had sworn off in the past. But I was in a tough place, and I figured it was time to make this damn thing happen.” “I told my girlfriend at the time, Jessica, that I was going to work my face off until I was out of foreclosure, could afford to take her out to dinner, and could take my kids on family vacations again. Not only did she support me as I worked to become the highest producer in the company, but Jessica ended up becoming the highest female producer in the company. It’s not surprising that she’s my wife today.” When I asked Ray to map out his path, he told me, “I became a full- time entrepreneur in 2005. By 2008, I was in foreclosure. In 2013, I started bouncing back. My first million-dollar year was 2014; my first million-dollar month was in 2015; and my first million-dollar weekend was in 2016.”

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