Gene's Bit of Blogging
Gene Mundt, Mortgage Lender - Direct: 815.277.4036    Cell/Text: 708.921.6331
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Recent Posts

Opening Night Coming for Joliet Slammers Baseball!
Multiple Offers and Appraisals ... Learning to Co-Exist Successfully
Buyers Decide Within 8 Seconds Whether They Are Interested In A Home
Students from Naperville, IL to Appear on "Late Show with David Letterman", Thursday, May 10th
I May Not Be Yoda, but I'm Darn Close!

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Gene's Bit of Blogging

Investors and Investments

Playing in the Rain in North Carolina ...



Playing in the "Rain"
in North Carolina 




     Over the last week, I have been lucky enough to view some of the most beautiful places and sites our country has to offer. 

      My wife and I decided we were going to take some much-needed days off and just drive.  Enjoy, relax, and see what we could see.  Through modern technology, I stayed in-touch with my clients, referral partners, emails, and office ... and never skipped a beat.  (Thank you portable WiFi ... Fantastic!)

      Marilyn and I headed southeast from Chicagoland towards North Carolina.  It was totally amazing to see how our country's land changes from one region to another.  The color, texture, lay of the land of the midwest totally different from that of the mountainous areas and south.

Click here 4 info on Pinehurst, NC golf/courses!      I got the opportunity to get some great golf rounds in while gone. 

      We visited Pinehurst, NC ... the area known as the birthplace of golf in the United States.  
    
     The choices of courses is staggering in the Pinehurst, NC area ... and merely choosing which course to play is almost as hard to do as playing the challenging courses  themselves.  While I played golf, Marilyn wandered the shops available in the old business section of Pinehurst and viewed the beautiful homes of the region.

     While in the Smokey Mountains, I also got to play the beautiful Sequoyah National Golf Club in Cherokee, NC.   Only one word can describe the views from this course, and that's ... WOW!  I'm going to write a post regarding this course soon.  I was just blown away by it ... and the great service I received while at the course.


Contact Mona Gersky & Leslie Rojohn at MoonDancer Realty, Dillsboro, NC to buy or sell your home/property!     But perhaps no experience or site was more beautiful or exhilarating than that of meeting 2 of my favorite ActiveRain members ... Mona Gersky and Leslie Rojohn from Moondancer Realty in Dillsboro, NC.


     I had written Mona that I would be visiting her area ... and no sooner than she received my note, she was writing back and inviting my wife and I to the Open House  that she and Leslie were hosting during the time of our stay.

     These ladies were just wonderful to meet and visit with.  I had the pleasure of watching both in action with clients and referral partners alike.  It's no wonder they're so very successful at representing their clients and working with professionals from their area.  

      Both Mona and Leslie were just as I had imagined them to be from their posts on ActiveRain.  Highly intelligent, warm, hard-working, caring, knowledgeable, great sense of humor ... I'd run out of adjectives describing them.  They both sparkle.

      For me, having the opportunity to meet and visit with these fellow Rain members was the highlight of my trip.  And that's saying a lot ... given the competition they were up against of great golf courses, the beauty of the Smokey Mountains, and days-off from work!

      Thank you again to Mona Gersky and Leslie Rojohn of Moondancer Realty of Dillsboro, NC, for their wonderful hospitality to myself and my wife ... and the opportunity to meet many of their clients and referral partners, and fantastic chili lunch.  I look forward to returning the favor when they visit Chicagoland.

      To all ActiveRain members I say ... don't ever miss the chance to meet fellow "Rain" members when you travel.  You'll be glad you took advantage of the chance to do so.   It's memorable.

      And to those looking to buy or sell a home or property in the Dillsboro, Sylva, Cullowhee, Franklin, Bryson City, Maggie Valley, and Waynesville area of western North Carolina  ... contact MoonDancer Realty ... (Tel:  828.631.0077)  and talk to Mona Gersky or Leslie Rojohn.  You can find no better ...




     * In need of intelligent, professional mortgage service to purchase your dream home?  Work with a mortgage lender with over 35 years of successful service to those needing mortgage financing. Contact me today!
    I can be found through any of the following:
Direct:  815.277.4036   Cell/Text:  708.921.6331
Website:  www.genemundt.com
Conveniently Thru Skype:  630.219.1316
    

    

    

"Connecting the Mortgage Dots in Today's Real Estate Market" . Carra Riley, Cosmic Cow Pie, and Gene Mundt, Mortgage Lender Answer Your Mortgage/Credit Questions




"Connecting the Mortgage Dots in Today's
Real Estate Market"

Carra Riley, Cosmic Cow Pie, and
Gene Mundt, Mortgage Lender Answer
YOUR Mortgage/Credit Questions




Contact Gene Mundt, Mortgage Lender with ALL your mortgage questions!    


     Looking for answers to your mortgage/credit questions? 

     Tune-in to Carra Riley's Cosmic Cow Pie blogtalkradio program tomorrow, February 23rd at 10 AM CST to receive the answers you need and seek. 

    

     Carra will be talking to me, Gene Mundt ... a mortgage lender  at The Federal Savings Bank (formerly known as Chicago Bancorp) regarding some of today's most important and timely mortgage, credit, and home buying questions in a Cosmic Cow Pie segment entitled, "Connecting The Mortgage Dots in Today's Real Estate Market"


     Together, Carra and I will be discussing and answering mortgage questions, such as:


   
     As someone with 35 years of mortgage experience, an in-depth, multi-decades background as a licensed real estate appraiser, and as a Certified Financial Planner, I have the extensive knowledge and expertise needed to answer the questions you have ... and also provide the services you need in Chicagoland and across the entire U.S.

Contact Gene Mundt, Mortgage Lender!     It's easy to take part in this Cosmic Cow Pie session.  Just dial (347) 994.1903 and ask us your questions!  If you can't join us during the live blogtalkradio program, you can listen to a replay of this program at any time.  Just go to Carra Riley's Cosmic Cow Pie  blogtalkradio site and "click" to listen  at your convenience.

     I can always answer your mortgage and credit questions at a more convenient time for you through any of the following means:
Direct:  815.277.4036    Cell/Text:  708.921.6331
Skype:  630.219.1316
 
    Have your questions ready!  Carra Riley and I look forward to assisting you with all your mortgage/credit questions and needs when you join us tomorrow, February 23rd, at 10 AM CST on Cosmic Cow Pie's blogtalkradio program, "Connecting the Mortgage Dots in Today's Real Estate Market".
 
     See you then!


Click Here to go to Carra Riley's Cosmic Cow Pie website!    
For more Cosmic Cow Pie and Carra Riley's insights ...

Don't Contact Me For a Mortgage Until You Can Make This Statement ...


    
   

     Last week on Forbes.com, they ran an article written by a financial planner, John E. Girouard, entitled "Buy That Dream House Now or Wait Until Prices Fall Further"


         In this article, Mr. Girouard made the following statement regarding his view of the present housing market and the wisdom of waiting further to purchase a home, should you be interested in doing so ... 

    "Trying to time the housing bottom is as much folly as trying to time stocks or any other investment vehicle.  In fact, it’s greater folly because if housing prices do fall further, it’s likely to be because mortgage rates are rising, which would mean that over the long term that slightly lower price you may have paid could end up costing more in carrying costs than you saved. Furthermore, how much lower could prices go? The economy can’t get much worse than it’s been in the past three years and the difficulty in getting a mortgage couldn’t be much greater."

     He goes on to make several more statements regarding the wisdom, the timing, and the financial aspects of making a home purchase.  His article, paired with others I've seen as of late, make a very convincing argument to me as a mortgage lender as to why buying a home NOW makes good financial sense.

     Of course, these articles are aimed at convincing potential buyers "sitting on the fence" or dreaming of home buying to take action.   And why do so many within the industry believe that those buyers are out there?  Well the frontline of our industry, the real estate agents, will tell you they ARE receiving inquiries regarding homes.  But even more convincing are the recent statistics and surveys taken that prove that the "American Dream" is alive.  Buying a home IS still the dream of the majority. 

     One such survey was the Lake Research Partners and Public Opinion Strategies.   Its' synopsis stated, "Despite the recent housing crisis and perceptions of risk in housing markets, 75 percent of the participants agreed that owning a home is worth the risk."  It seems, no matter how badly the market has beaten us up, the vast majority of Americans still want to reach for that dream.

     So that tells me there's something else, besides the financial aspect of this important decision, taking place within our decision-making.  That is NOT all about the dollars and cents of home buying.  There's real and strong emotions at play.

     It seems to me that what the government and our politicans have seemed to overlook during this whole housing debacle, is just how emotional a decision this "owning a home" is for we Americans.  Yes, the loss of equity and those "dollars and cents" have us upset.  But it's what those homes and those dollars and cents represent and really mean to us that have us irate and so very upset. 

     Our homes are all about security.  About family.  About good friends and neighbors and special times together.  They represent how hard we've worked.  What we've achieved.  Our accomplishments.  They're our golden sunsets.  Our peaceful senior lives.

     A home is what we planted, took root, farmed, and grew.  Mess with all of that and we feel pretty fragile.  Rightfully so.  A home is a very deep, very strong, very basic set of emotions for most of us.

     And those deep emotions motivate us to still want to buy and own our own homes.  No matter the risk.  No matter the hassle.  No matter the hard work it takes to buy and own them.  We still want what those homes represent to us ... and for our families and futures.

    And that is why I say, "Don't contact me for a mortgage until you can make this statement ..."

     "I want to own my own home for reasons other than just financial ones".

     I can sit in front of you as a mortgage lender and show you charts, surveys, facts and figures, equations, appraisals, and all the forms that our government demands until we're all blue in the face ... and yes, they will tell you whether you CAN buy a home ... if you're capable financially. 

     But they will NOT get to the core or heart of the matter and provide you the answer as to whether you personally should buy or rent a home.  You shouldn't look for that final determination or answer in anything I or anyone else provides or says.

     No. That answer ... that gut feeling ... that final decision will be found within you.  Only YOU can answer whether you are part of that 75% of Americans that still believes that owning a home is worth it.  Only YOU can decide whether the effort, the work, the responsibility, the risk that goes along with home ownership is worth it.  Only YOU can determine whether you're mentally prepared.   Only YOU can determine just how badly you want it. 

     But ultimately, unless you're a real estate investor, you should buy a home for one reason, and one reason only.  And that's because you want to, are ready to, and are commited to becoming a home owner.

    Until you can make that statement, don't call me for a mortgage ...





      *  Of course, if and when you make that decision ... and it is favorable to buying a home, contact me.  We'll work together and prepare you so you can buy that home you're dreaming about. 
     I can be reached at any of the following:
Direct:  815.277.4036    Cell/Text:  708.921.6331
Email: gene@chicagobancorp.com
Website: www.genemundt.com
Skype:  630.219.1316
Click here 4 a: NO Cost NO Obligation Mortgage Consultation