Gene Mundt

As many do on AR, I read the articles and comments submitted here on a regular basis throughout the day as I find the time. I consider it part of my "continuing education". One I look forward to greatly.

One of the many things that I have learned since I joined AR, is that I can gain great new friends from across the nation ... people I never would have met and established a relationship with otherwise, if not for AR and my participation within it. I relish these new contacts and suspect I am not alone in that feeling as so many posts and comments contain that very sentiment.

What I did not expect to find through AR were OLD friends ... and to enjoy renewing past friendships through my activity and participation here. But yesterday, that all changed!

While reading a post entitled "DO WE HAVE AND HOLD OUR ETHICS DEAR ON ACTIVE RAIN?", by Dominick A. Dina (MA, REALTOR®, e-PRO, Broker) out of San Antonio, TX, the name stirred me. There was a family of that name that lived in the small town I had called home for over 25 years. Could it be the same family? My wife and I had been raised in another small community close by. Together, these towns (along with 2 others) fed into the same high school, so we got to know kids from surrounding towns as well as our own and become friends with them. The odds were slim that the family was the same, but who knows? I called in the expert.

I had my wife read Dominick's post. She took one look at the picture contained within Dominick's post and exclaimed, "It's Danny! It's got to be! Looks just like him!"

It seems that her older brother had been a very good friend of "Danny" in high school, having been in band and the same trumpet section for four years. She had gotten to know him through her brother and band too. The memories of the friendship and the friend were all good.

So I wrote Dominick. Could it be that he was this "Danny"? Did he grow up in a small little village in the heart of Illinois? Could he have attended a high school in another state ... years ago ... and been a trumpet player? Would he respond? Or ... would he think I was some sort of nut? What were the odds of finding someone like this through the world of AR?

They were very very good! Dominick was indeed "Danny" and the long lost friend!

A few emails have now flown back and forth filling in the gaps of the years between high school and the present. My wife is going to re-connect Dominick with her brother, as well. Amazing that it happened ... and ALL BECAUSE OF ACTIVERAIN!

This is one benefit of my membership here that I did not expect.

It just goes to show you can never underestimate the reach of the networking you do ... or just how small your world has truly become because of it!

Attention!

Link to Reverse Mortgage Daily Rebuttal:

http://reversemortgagedaily.com/2009/09/03/nrmla-questions-validity-of-consumer-reports-reverse-mortgage-investigation/

I've been inundated with responses, emails, calls, and conversations regarding the Reverse Mortgage posts on AR over the last couple of days.

Wow! This is a topic that gets people talking! Rightfully so, as it's important.

I had mentioned in my Reverse Mortgage post on AR that I was concerned about the tone displayed in the ConsumerReport's latest magazine article regarding this topic. I wanted to clarify that I am typically a real CR fan and find its' reporting to be un-biased and fair.

On this particular topic though, I've sensed a little different "flavor". Maybe their approach is a good thing in some ways. It certainly raises the visability level of the topic itself and gets the point across to seniors that a mortgage of this type is not something to enter into lightly. That's all good.

My reason for writing this follow-up is not to just continue any debate. It is simply this ... Within a ConsumerReports follow-up article (same issue as the main report), they included some options for seniors to consider versus and prior to taking a Reverse Mortgage.

One bit of information offered within that article stood out for me.

CR writes: "Most states have a government agency to match seniors with local resources and programs to meet their needs. Also check out www.benefitscheckup.org, a screening service that checks older adults' eligibility for various public and private benefit programs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia."

Being aware of this informational resource might prove of great assistance at some point. I thought it worthy of an additional writing.

Keep the dialogue flowing ...

Sometimes you find pearls of wisdom when you least expect it ...

Yesterday's blog on ActiveRain by Dan Pena titled "Why do we need Reverse Mortgages?" was that kind of find.

My mind had barely digested Dan's powerful blog when ... what do I find in my mail? The latest ConsumerReports magazine (Sept. 2009) with a lengthy article concerning Dan's very topic ... Reverse Mortgages.

The CR magazine article was of quite a different tone than Dan's blog. The sub-title read a little like something you'd find in The Enquirer. "The next financial fiasco?? It could be reverse mortgages." Very ominous.

Now, to their credit, ConsumerReports is providing a boat-load of information, facts, and figures within their article. But for every plus described, there are multiple negatives written. Sometimes very dramatically.

The words chosen to describe Reverse Mortgages are even scarey sounding. CR tosses around the terms and words "lending lures", "on the hook", "unfortunate situations", and "worrisome trend" throughout the pages. If they are trying to scare seniors from researching or considering these loan products, it probably worked!

The truth of the matter is, like any other lending product, Reverse Mortgages can be written by ethical, intelligent, and well-meaning individuals like Dan Pena, who is obviously a caring professional and trying to do right by his clients ... or they can be written by opportunistic snakes that take advantage of every situation they can. We've seen it before, as evidenced by our current housing and mortgage crisis and unfortunately, we will most likely see it again in the future.

The snakes are smart and sneaky and always seem to be able to slither a little faster than our laws and regulations can be written.

In the meantime, our mothers, fathers, and grandparents need to be protected and educated regarding these mortgages. Educated PRO and CON.

WE need to be educated too as sons, daughters, grandchildren, caregivers, and friends. In two separate blogs, written in March of 2009 ("Reverse Mortgages - The Fact List") and ("Getting the Facts Out - Reverse Mortgages"), I provide some basic and preliminary information regarding this lending. I can provide more info and guidance too ... but these posts are a good place to start when loading up on Reverse Mortgage facts and options. Seminars, books, videos, and the internet are other opportunities for learning about this lending and Dan Pena is obviously a wonderful resource to be considered. Search one of these learning tools out.

The near future will see new changes enforced regarding these loans. There is no doubt about that. Stronger protections and more strict regulations will be demanded and implemented for seniors' benefit. That is all good, for when done properly and in the right situations, Reverse Mortgages can provide income and assistance that some seniors greatly need. Dan's blog showcased such a need in the clearest and purest of fashion.

Pearl of Wisdom for today?

Reverse Mortgages must be allowed to survive for just these instances.

I was in the local Wal-Mart over the weekend. It was jam-packed with families buying school supplies for the upcoming new school year. Cart after cart of pens, paper, computers, folders, and colorful crayons were flying out the door.

My wife was the queen of school supplies. Our boys never had to worry about running out of a thing. We had a big box several feet deep and several feet wide filled with the stuff. Need glue sticks? Got 'em! Posterboard? Check! Stencils? Bingo! We even had the boys' friends calling us at times. WE were the local supply store! They just knew Mrs. Mundt would have what they needed. No last-minute runs to the store in the wee hours were ever necessary for us or anyone we knew!

Thankfully, the school systems our boys attended were beneficiaries of great financial planning and leadership. They were noted (and still are) as one of the top school districts within our state. Our boys were lucky to receive an extremely good education in a well-equipped, safe, and educationally nurturing atmosphere. Upon the youngest's graduation from high school, we reasoned we no longer needed a large home and downsized to a smaller home in a nearby community. At the time of our move, this community's high school was also rated highly within the state educational rankings.

But almost 8 years later, this community's high school board has now tried to pass a referendum multiple times. Each time it has been unsuccessful and been voted down. Now it may be argued that various finer talking-points of the referendum have not been explained, defended, or proven worthy of its' passing, but the one thing that cannot be argued is that the halls of the high school are over-packed with kids!

Safety has become an issue at the school because of this fact. Trailers are now attached to the school in multiple directions to help relieve hall congestion and provide more class space. There are now so many kids in this school system, that for the first time this fall, they are beginning staggered class schedules during the school year.

Some kids are going to be getting up so extremely early in the morning that they're going to think they're dairy farmers!

Anyone in real estate will tell you ... your school systems are an integral portion of the valuation of your property. Talk with a realtor. If someone with children is pondering a move into your community, their number one question will most likely be (and should be) ... "What are the schools like?"

When schools start to suffer from overcrowding, are in need of repair, or can no longer offer the curriculum and extra-curricular activities families want for their children ... the community suffers and values of the property contained within those community's school districts start to fall.

As an ex-real estate appraiser, I know this for a fact and it worries me greatly that this badly-needed referendum is floundering in our community. If I am concerned, potential home buying customers are or will be too.

All of this raced through my head while standing in line while at the store the other day. Our society's emphasis on the latest and greatest school supplies is ill-placed. Our focus should be on the schools themselves and spending dollars wisely there. Being aware of the school's needs and being willing to make it a priority is vitally and equally important.

In the long run, our children and grand-children will be much better served and our property values better protected by this ABC approach.