The HartBeat Show Podcast

What are escrows? Do you need them?  What does it mean when you waive escrows?   Were going over everything you need to know about escrows today.   If you have questions on how escrows work to help pay your property taxes and homeowners insurance, I hope this helps!   Let us know if you have any questions, happy to help!   I do Mortgages for a living, if I can ever help yo...

Mortgage rates have been increasing this year off the all-time lows of 2020 and 2021. It stinks because those couple years were amazing but that was maybe a once in a lifetime type of situation. Now we are entering back into a normal market.   There still is concern with where the interest rate market is going so I brought on our Vice President of Secondary, Brad Chatel, to discuss his though...

Here is the situation you want to avoid as a buyer. Buyer wants to buy a home and their rental lease is up in 10 months. They wait until about the 8 month mark to start the pre-approval process. Surprise! Two collections showed up that they were not aware of. Their credit score is not high enough and there is not enough time to fix it before their lease is up. They get freaked out and have to sign...

Medical Collections Being Removed From Credit Reports Starting on July 1, 2022 there are some big changes coming to the credit reporting for consumers. This is great news for consumers! Medical collections will not be able to report to the consumer credits report for 365 days. This will give the consumer more time to work with their insurance company or to pay the bill outright before it hits your...

I was super pumped that my friend, Jimmy Akers, was finally able to come on to the HartBeat Show Podcast. Jimmy is currently the Connections Pastor at First Christian Church in Fort Myers. I knew the topic I wanted to talk with him about was Servant Leadership in Business. Jimmy basically gives us a 30 minute sermon on servant leadership in business and I loved it! I know he wasn’t talking about m...

We recently did a video called “Is Solar Energy Right For You” with my buddies, John and Tom Gonser, with Green Panda Energy.  I quickly realized that we needed a second one to answer some more of the questions and concerns that I was getting.  The Father and Son duo came back on to debunk the issues that I threw out to them.   Here are the five myths the guys covered in this video:...

With energy prices increasing all across the country, I have seen interest in solar energy increase as well. Many people are looking at solar energy as a way to lower their monthly payments. There are also some people that just want to look for a cleaner energy source for their home. There are a lot of different variables that go into the decision of solar energy and if it makes sense for someone...

Last month we had a situation happen that I thought I would share. The borrower was referred to me by a friend and felt like they needed to explore other options for their loan.   The lender they had chosen was trying to do an FHA 203k Rehab loan. I believe they were going on two months and were no where close to closing. The borrower only needed around $30k to remodel the kitchen and put in...

My friend, Vanessa Araya, from Outdoor Life Pros and Impact Leadership Group was cool enough to come on and talk about her top three ways to lead.   She hit on her top three but we probably could have talked for another hour on these topics. Hopefully you can find some nuggets to pull out to help you in your leadership journey.   Over the last few years Vanessa has developed a passion fo...

You may or may not be surprised by the fact that some people are scared or embarrassed to apply for a mortgage. That Loan Officer is going to see your low credit score, countless recent insufficient funds and that you have been late on your Victoria’s Secret credit card for the last 15 months. Guess what? The Loan Officer doesn’t even bat an eye at it. I know I don’t. Do not fear of your past life...

One of the hardest things for a buyer to do in our SWFL real estate market is to win a contract. Yes cash buyers get an advantage over financed buyers.   You know who else gets an advantage? Borrowers who use a local trusted lender!   When agents get in a multiple offer situation and their options are narrowed down to financed buyers, the one that was approved with a local trusted lender...

One of the most important parts of getting approved to buy a home is the down payment. Some people don’t have enough money for a down payment or a family that can gift them the down payment money. Many people don’t know that the borrowers employer can gift them a down payment. That’s right! The borrowers employer can gift their employer money for the down payment on an FHA loan. Check out this epi...

When Do I Get Pre-Approved For a Mortgage? Hint: NOW! Let me lay out a common situation for a First Time Buyers. Your rental lease is coming up in 6 months and you are wondering what you are going to do. You want to explore buying a home but decide you should wait until you get closer to your lease being finished. You finally get a few months from your lease being up and you apply for a mortgage t...

I hear this comments like this several times a week.   “My Realtor wanted me to call you to get pre-approved before they show me homes”   In this episode I go into the two main reasons why they want you to be pre-approved before they show you property.   Not wanting to waste their time is one reason and the other is so they can show you the property that fits your budget.   The...

If you live in a flood zone or want to own a house in a flood zone, you will want to tune in for this video.   Connie Galewski of Avalon Insurance and I talk about the increases in flood insurance that has started on 10/1/2021.   These price increases will vary on how far away from the water the property is but you can be sure that it will increase.   Main points we cover:   •...

Yes we did! We were able to use the equity in their home to pay off credit cards and current mortgage to save them $1,930 a month!  Let me say it again ……. $1,930 a month in savings! That is life changing!    This is called a cash out refinance and many people are looking towards this to pay off their credit cards and/or installments loans. We closed several last month that saved pe...

We have been getting a ton of questions about locking rates in a rising rate environment.  This video was done on 2/2021 and it is currently a rising rate environment.   Oddly enough, my advice doesn’t change much during a lower rate environment. My rule holds true for my borrowers “If you like it, lock it!”   Check out this video to learn more about locking rates during a rising ra...

Homestead Exemption is one thing every primary residence owner in Florida should do. There is a massive amount of tax savings that is available in Florida so make sure you take advantage of it. Lucky for us we got the Lee County Property Appraiser Matt Caldwell on to talk about Homestead Exemption and how Lee County Florida handles it. Thanks to Matt for joining us and you can get all of this info...

I was joined with a friend of mine, Lance Wissinger, to discuss Florida passing a law that allowed convicted felons to vote in the 2020 election and beyond. Lance had his voters rights restored in 2020 and tells his entire story. What he did to become a felon and the journey to where he is today working with Florida Rights Restoration Coalition There was tons of questions that I was looking to hav...

I got a chance to talk to my friend. Matt Herting, who is a coaching legend in SWFL. He is currently the head basketball coach at Bishop Verot High School where he has been for the last  22 years! 22 years! Coach and I discussed tons of topics about his coaching careers, philosophy , past players, greatest moments and his SWFL coaching tree. Matt is an amazing guy and I have witnessed first h...

Are electronics controlling all of your families attention? Kids glued to a screen all day? Are you glued to your phone all night? The battle against electronics are real and my friends Joel and Mandy Zehdner created a great company called “Family Strong” that is tackling this issue. I loved talking to Mandy about her business and how it came about it. Tune in to learn more about how you can help...

My friend, Robin Whitt, followed her life long dream of writing a book and she crushed it. Her book was “Spiritual Recipe” was an awesome self-help book and I read it in one setting. I have read many self-help style books and this was a very easy read and Robin doesn’t make it to complicated. I would recommend this book to anyone that is looking for a quick pick me up. Her deciding to format this...

Many times people will come to us to buy a house and they plan on using the cash they have on hand. Maybe they keep the cash in a safe, under the mattress, safe deposit box or even buried in the back yard. Wherever they keep that cash it can’t be used for a down payment. We would need that money in the bank for at least 60 days to make the funds sourced and seasoned.   A lender is going to as...

Many times our borrowers may not have all of their money saved up for a down payment but they found their dream home or don’t want to miss out on low rates. Good news! They can ask their family for money! Ha! For real, they can get a gift from a family member or employer to help with their down payment. Be sure to watch listen to this episode to learn more.  Connect me with me on social media...

Florida Gator football starts back this Saturday and I can’t wait! I’m a huge fan and please just delete the email if you hate the Gators lol Check out the season preview I did with David Waters from Gators Breakdown. This is one of my go to Florida Gator football podcasts and he does a great job. We talk about the upcoming season, breakout players, recruiting and why he thinks they will the SEC E...