VanDyk Mortgage - September 2018

September 2018

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

TIMDANGO MOVIE REVIEWS My Favorite (And Least Favorite) Movies of 2018

I love movies. While I don’t get many opportunities to make it to the theater or watch a ton of TV, with work and family life keeping my schedule full, I still enjoy the opportunity to relax and watch a movie when I can. Whether it’s a rags-to-riches underdog tale, a superhero blockbuster, or a Pixar movie with my kids, watching movies has always been one of my favorite pastimes.

If I had to choose my favorite movie that I’ve seen this year, it’d be a tough competition between the superhero blockbuster “Avengers: Infinity War” or the sleeper musical hit of 2017 “The Greatest Showman.” “Avengers” kept everyone on the edge of their seats with some of the coolest action scenes I’ve ever seen in a theater, and who can argue with that absolutely crushing ending (which I won’t spoil here)? But as weird as it

But, like many people, I find myself scrolling through the endless list of options on Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Xfinity on Demand for a lot longer than I spend actually watching anything. So I figured, hey, why not help other people with similar tastes skip the hour- long movie hunt, avoid a horrible film, and choose something good? That’s why I started my #TimDango series on Facebook, where I

feels to recommend a musical over a Marvel movie, I think I have to give the #TimDango award to Hugh Jackman and company’s underdog story — five out of five stars. Definitely give it a watch with your family. Unless you hate music for some odd reason, I’m confident you’ll be as pleasantly

surprised as I was. Who knows? You might even get addicted to the soundtrack … like me.

review movies myself. Now, I’m not a professional film critic, but hopefully, at least a few of my friends get a chuckle out of my posts and maybe even find something they might actually enjoy.

Check out my #TimDango hashtag on Facebook to track down all my reviews if you’re curious. While I don’t think it’s going to become a weekly thing, I’m definitely having

fun posting them, and I hope to do more in the future. Oh, and whatever you do, don’t see the “Chips” remake with Dax Shepard. As with many modern comedies, you’d get more laughs pulling weeds in your backyard.

I’ve seen a few big movies this year — some great, and some absolute trash that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. My least favorite of all was Guillermo Del Toro’s “The Shape of Water.” The fish-on-lady romance won the Academy Award for Best Picture earlier this year. That award probably should have been a dead giveaway for what I was getting myself into, but I was drawn in by the sci-fi elements and the promise of a creature feature. Now, I’ve seen some dumb movies in my life, but this one was a real doozy. I gave this swamp garbage one out of five stars.

NMLS #354676

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

Page 1

WHAT EXACTLY IS A CREDIT SCORE, ANYWAY?

Helicopter parents are the bane of every teacher’s existence. With the return of back-to-school season, it’s vital to find a happy medium between the tiger mom who bares her teeth at the smallest setback in her child’s schooling and the laissez-faire parent who is totally disengaged from their kid’s education. Here are a few tips to keep you involved in your child’s educational development while fostering relationships with their teachers in a way that won’t drive all of you up the wall. 1. Be a little empathetic. Teachers are some of the hardest-working people in the world, wrangling the disparate needs of around 25 children day in and day out while attempting to get them to actually learn something. It’s a high-stress, low-paying job. In the midst of grading 300 research papers written by 12-year- olds, the last thing they need is the added pressure of concerned parents bearing down on them. If you can approach a teacher from a position of understanding As part of my ongoing Ask an Expert Series, I had the opportunity to speak with Pamela Paulson of Home Loans Assist, a company dedicated to helping clients repair their credit. At VanDyk Mortgage, when we have a deal we can’t do due to the borrower’s credit score, we consult with Home Loans Assist to help our clients improve their credit and (hopefully) qualify for a home loan. Here’s a breakdown of what we discussed. For the full first interview, visit http://bit.ly/ FICOscoreVDM. Paying for everything with cash has its advantages, but eventually, you’ll need to use credit to buy something — and that requires a good credit score. A solid credit score will net you lower interest rates on credit cards and loans, increase your chance of approval for loans and rentals, give you wiggle room in negotiations, and help you with everything from buying a cellphone to maintaining low car insurance premiums.

and be willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, you’ll be off to a good start. 2. Show up and keep an open mind. Ask any teacher in the country, and they’ll undoubtedly tell you that one of the best predictors of a child’s success is whether or not their parents make an appearance at parent-teacher conferences. Your engagement should go beyond that. Use the teacher’s preferred method of communication to stay in semi-regular contact with them — always ensuring that you keep an open mind about any praise, suggestions, or concerns they have about your child. 3. Teach your child to take responsibility. Aside from leaving your kid completely to their own devices, one of the worst things you can do is swoop in to solve their problems for them at the slightest hint of adversity. Maybe that D your kid got on their algebra test really was their fault. It’s important to acknowledge your child’s missteps, but you should also But what exactly is a FICO score? FICO stands for Fair, Isaac, and Company, essentially a group of mathematicians and statisticians who sit around creating algorithms to assess a consumer’s creditworthiness or credit risk. Over 50 of these algorithms have been created over FICO’s existence, but only three are used in the mortgage industry. The three scoring models are called Beacon 5.0, Classic 04, and Fair Isaac Version 2. Beacon is tied to Equifax, Classic to TransUnion, and Fair Isaac to Experian. When a lender pulls a credit score to assess your creditworthiness, these three scores get “tri-merged” and rolled into a single report. Each of these three algorithms assesses different things based on the consumer’s payment history, amounts owed, balances, length of credit history, and many other metrics specific to the consumer. But if two different companies pull your score on the same day, those

scores should be identical — although credit scores definitely change over time.

Credit scores are certainly a complicated subject with a lot of moving parts. But with the right expert by your side, you can navigate the tricky land of credit without issue, even recovering your credit score. To learn more, or to watch the rest of the series, visit http://bit.ly/FICOscoreVDM.

TRIVIA QUESTION: WHAT DOES FICO STAND FOR?

INVOLVED BUT NOT OVERBEARING

try to equip them with the tools necessary to advocate for themselves. Learning to articulate what’s going wrong or what they need from their teacher will help them to develop positive and effective communication skills.

The key is to work together with your child’s teacher without being

overbearing. Don’t come in with guns blazing at the first sign of an educational slip. Think of your kid’s schooling as a collaborative effort — maybe one in which you’re a little less involved than the teacher — and you’ll be giving your child the best chance of success.

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

Page 2

Family Lawyer Danielle Seitz Gives Some Sage Advice BUYING A HOME DURING A DIVORCE

Lately, I’ve been on the interview train, working to create new and useful content for those out there looking to buy a home. In addition to my in-depth

and dry for me. But it gets a little more complicated when someone is looking to buy a home before the divorce is finalized. Of course, when people get divorced, at least one of them almost always needs a new place to live, so this makes sense. But the goal of my interview was to get Danielle’s professional take on the situation and give those in the middle of a divorce some guidance. “It can be a little bit dicey when you’re talking about getting a new place when the divorce is still pending,” Danielle says. In most pending divorce situations, you’ll be under a standing order of injunction, which prevents either party from spending marital money or assets without a court order until the divorce is finalized. Of course, there are cases where people still go out and buy a home, but Danielle doesn’t recommend it.

“I advise my clients that it might be a good idea to rent for some time if they’re not remaining in the marital home, because there are so many unknowns,” she says. “You don’t necessarily know what your child support obligation might be, or how much you may be receiving in child support or alimony, or what possible debts you may be responsible for.” You can potentially draw from nonmarital accounts or assets you had prior to the marriage that were never added to during your marriage, but use caution. “You do still run the risk potentially down the line when it gets resolved that your spouse does have a claim to equity in that home,” Danielle says. So there you have it. Of course, that’s not all Danielle and I talked about. Check out the full interview on my Facebook page (facebook.com/TimHartJr/) for more information, or just give me a call.

Family Lawyer Danielle Seitz

conversation with Pamela Paulson about credit scores — read all about it on the previous page — I had a chance to speak with Danielle Seitz at Aloia, Roland, Lubell & Morgan, a family law firm here in Fort Myers. Every couple of months, I have someone in my office going through a divorce while applying to purchase a home. Usually, they just want to refinance their mortgage without their spouse, which is pretty cut

SUDOKU

VanDyk Testimonial

Here is what our clients had to say about their experience with VanDyk Mortgage:

“Timothy Hart Jr, was very professional and responsive with the whole mortgage process from beginning to end. He made himself available to me via any method of my choice, including cellphone, which I appreciated and took advantage of. Tim even stayed in touch with me after closing to check if I had any questions. I am grateful for all of Tim’s work that he devoted to my family’s purchase of this home. I would highly recommend Tim for any mortgage needs” –Vidal Eric and Melissa Velez

Melissa & Eric’s Son Jaiden Velez

Thanks to Jason Hause of Porter Davis Real Estate for the referral!

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

Page 3

PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

Answer the question on page 2 and win a $20 Publix gift card!

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

TimDango Movie Reviews PAGE 1

Talking Credit Scores With Pamela Paulson The 3 Keys to Parent-Teacher Etiquette PAGE 2

Can You Buy a New Home During a Divorce?

September Testimonial

Sudoku PAGE 3

3 Fitness Strategies for the Back-to-School Season PAGE 4

Jump Back in With These Strategies DID YOUR WORKOUT ROUTINE TAKE A SUMMER VACATION?

1. Find something you like to do. Maybe part of the reason your fitness routine took a break was because you didn’t enjoy doing it. If that’s the case, re- evaluate your options. There is no superior form of exercise, and there are plenty of options to align with your preferences. If you couldn’t get enough of hiking in national parks over the summer, join a hiking group in your community. If you prefer being on a team, look for a local adult league for your favorite sport. 2. Set yourself up for success. You would go to that 5:30 p.m. boot camp class, but it’s right in the middle of your daughter’s dance practice. Getting to the gym is half the battle, so make it easier on yourself by preparing in advance. Find a facility with a schedule that easily fits yours. If you’re planning to work out in the morning, set your clothes out the night before, and choose an energetic song for

your alarm. If there’s a class after work, consider leaving an extra set of gym clothes at your office so you’ll never have an excuse not to go. 3. Make your workout an unavoidable part of your day. It’s tempting to join your coworkers for happy hour, especially when that outdoor patio is just around the block from your office. But what if it were that easy to get to the gym? Look for facilities that are on your commute, near your work, or close to home. If it’s easy to get to, you’ll be more likely to go and still have time for that drink afterward. It may take time to make your workout routine a seamless part of your life, but implementing some of these strategies will make it easier and more enjoyable. You might even find yourself looking forward to back-to-the-gym season!

With barbecues, trips to the pool, and indulging in refreshing beverages on the patio, summer is full of relaxation and fun. But those heart-pumping, muscle-building trips to the gym may have become less frequent during the warmer months. If your workout routine went on its own summer vacation, here are three strategies to get back to it.

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

Page 4