Gene Mundt

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.

Anyone that knows me at all, knows that I am a huge sports fan. Okay ... I'll admit it, sports nut! Whether it's basketball, baseball, golf, hockey, badminton, or football ... you name it ... I've played it or am interested in watching it. Heck, I've even gotten into bull riding lately. (Blame my wife for that one!)

One of the aspects I like best about sports, is the teamwork that is involved in it. Even sports typically noted for individual competition, such as bull riding and golf, host big events that are team-related. And, there is definitely no doubt that, even in these sports where head-to-head competition usually reigns, there is a shared team effort and mentality during these events. Whether it's the Professional Bull Riding World Finals, Ryder Cup, or other such event, fist-bumps, screams, and high-fives are enthusiastically shared and passed around.

It struck me a short while ago, that perhaps this is why I like my profession so much. There is a true and real sense of teamwork when everything's clicking right and we're on track for a successful closing. Each member of the buyer's home buying team is passing the ball or working one way or another to the "team's" benefit. Whether it's the realtor, attorney, underwriter, buyer and seller, home stager, home inspector, or myself, the "team" is experiencing success because everyone is moving in tandem, cooperating, and working with one another towards a common goal.

Everyone on this real estate dream team must be hard-working, quick, tireless, patient, determined, and possess the correct working equipment to finish the "game" on the winning end ... that meaning, of course, a successfully closed loan and satisfied new home owner. If any of these important elements is missing from the overall team strategy, the whole team suffers defeat ... never getting to the goal line, never rounding all the bases, never making the 8 second buzzer. A team must then start a new game or a new team must be assembled.

Right now, the opponents to our home team are applying a wicked new offense. It's been hard to get a real read on this offense, because in any given competition ... while the game clock is ticking away ... these opponents sometimes change the rules of the game. Almost impossible to devise a defensive plan for ... and harder to execute. Once in a while, this opponent even blind-sides you. I am one team member that thinks a time out needs to be called soon.

To protect the integrity of our league, insure a fair and level playing field for every team and every team member, (and to insure that a game can be won), the league and its commissioners need to re-huddle and come up with new governing rules and a brand new game plan! It needs to re-assess the overall league situation, check-out and improve the condition of the playing fields, make new safety equipment mandatory, and write a new and improved set of governing rules governing the play. They need to listen to those that play the game on a professional level and love and care about the game itself. When that is accomplished, you'll see more quality games being successfully played again.

No matter the team, no matter the sport ... the teamwork is key to the ultimate success achieved. On a real estate "team", success means successful buyers experiencing successfully closed homes. When they win ... they get to go home and place their trophies on their new home's mantels. Yea Team!

Because I am a firm believer in getting my name and expertise out via varying formats, I participate in many real estate-related websites and venues. Today while reading the Q & A section of one of the other sites I take part in, I ran across a comment offered up by another lender. This comment was regarding the huge number of "quotes" received by a potential customer to a rate inquiry on the site.

It seems ... so far ... this inquiry had been responded to 180 times! The question presented by this lender was ... "How many responses is too many or enough?" It was obvious this lender was greatly frustrated, as well as a little confused, regarding the website's decision to allow the quote format or to allow that many quotes to be given.

I have asked myself the very same questions many times. Why would a potential customer have any faith in such a format? And how does a potential customer begin to sift through 180 quotes, make any sense of them, or see any differences in the responders? At what point does the number of responses to their inquiry go beyond ridiculous or unmanageable? At what point does it become useless for another lender to respond?

At what point does a customer just put on a blindfold and pick something ... or worse, give up?

I have been questioned many times about my decision to NOT provide quotes on sites such as this, even though many lenders think it a useful tool and important reason to be involved on the site.

Especially in today's housing market and financial climate, detailed information and documentation of such is key to the quote and the transaction's outcome. There are just too many variables and detailed questions that need to be personally addressed with customers to provide any reliable concrete answers and solutions through this limited format. Once offered, it is hard to retract or change initial opinions and I find that customers do not react well to it. I feel as a professional I lose my credibility and their trust.

These other websites do provide our industry a service. They are great vehicles and marketing tools for real estate professionals and provide great opportunities for contact with a vast amount of potential customers and referral partners. They assist us by offering a simple and easy means by which to reach one another and communicate.

I know my decision regarding quotes limits the number of contacts I make through these sites. I prefer to pursue and forge relationships from these websites through their Question & Answer feature. For the very reason this other lender brought to light, I can do it no other way. I can only hope that those utilizing these website's Q & A forums read the information and explanations I offer and then react to the quality of those responses and the sincerity in which I try to provide them.

Otherwise ... there's the blindfold!

More and more often, I am being placed in the position of explaining or proving the attributes of my mortgage services versus that of another mortgage officer's to a new customer. There are presently fewer home buyers and owners seeking mortgage services as a whole and as a result, the mortgage business (and entire real estate industry) has become extremely competitive. In order to increase my competitiveness amongst my peers, I constantly critique my "product". This important practice is very beneficial and provides me the chance to tune-up my "product" performance engine.

I try to perform this self-assessment as a new customer would. How am I viewed? What about my interview and application style and conduct? What can I do to improve them? Do my services meet and exceed the needs of my mortgage customers and referral partners? What services can I provide in the future that I am not now providing? What can I learn? Change? Discard?

Although rates are the main focus of the marketing received through the media, mail, and internet, I find that fighting that battle alone is a losing one for me. You always hear the terminology "buying a rate", but my services are not centered on just rates and cannot be. There will always be another loan officer somewhere that quotes exactly as I do or better, so critiquing solely on that premise is self-defeating. And although there are sales elements to my job, I prefer to not approach it entirely as such. I do not and will not view my services as that of a rate salesman. That cheapens my services and reduces them to a commodity, just something bought and sold. Selfishly, I want more fulfillment than that from my work.

To enjoy my work more and bring my business to another level, I seek to find better ways to inject personalization and customization into my services. I have found that taking the time for old-fashioned niceties is beneficial and important, not only to the customer, but to myself as well. Thankfully, I am the son of one of the best personal note writers alive. (My mother burns through the note cards as though she has Hallmark stock.) I can also thank my mother for setting the example of saying "thank-you". She never lets an opportunity to say it slip by and she is the first one on the phone to express her gratitude for a kindness. Practicing both of these examples of old-fashioned manners is extremely important and base-level marketing that truly makes a difference. It keeps me in contact and provides a much-needed non-business touch to my work.

I believe it is these type of extras provided that make what I do important and worth-while to my potential customers, but more importantly to myself. It's the above and beyond that makes what I do more than just a job. The addition of licensed financial planning services into my service menu has greatly enhanced the pleasure I derive from my work. The extras place me in the position of being able to offer more to my customers and referral partners, now in the present and long term into the future. It's how I can make a real difference in their lives and mine. At 30 plus years in the industry, that's extremely important too.

The self-assessment and "tune-up" I conduct, as well as the helpful lessons learned from others, allow me the opportunity to adjust and improve what I do for my customers. That willingness to learn and to try new things will hopefully continue to aid my customers and allow for greater business success all at the same time.

The reflection is necessary ... and good.

I was talking with my insurance agent and advisor just the other day and he related a sad story to me. Although he has been my personal agent (handling my auto, home and more) for almost three decades, and in the business for more years than that, I could not remember seeing him so shaken.

It seems that clients of his had recently suffered a devastating loss. A young wife and mother had lost her husband suddenly. What made this particular situation harder was that this loss occurred immediately following the birth of the couple's first child, leaving her a very young widow with a newborn infant. Thankfully, life insurance was in place.

Through thoughtful guidance, planning, and persistence on my agent's part, this grieving family was saved from financial disaster. He was able to hand over a large death-benefit check to the young widow. The look he saw on her face as she received the check was priceless and brought tears to his eyes. Having become a grandfather recently, he knew it could have been his own daughter standing there suffering the same fate. It hit just too close to home for him and knowing my friend, I now knew why this particular situation affected him so.

His message is this ... people, especially young people, can feel indestructible. They think that nothing like the above can happen to them. But, it does happen and from what my friend related, much more than we'd believe. He says he unfortunately has a file full of these stories. The financial impact these deaths have on the people left behind can be staggering. The survivors are left behind to pay not only funeral bills, but continuing bills. The utilities and taxes do not stop upon their loved one's death. Banks still expect mortgages to be paid. Car loans go on ... and so on.

Life insurance is a financial instrument, designed to minimize that kind of horrendous financial impact. The monetary benefit received from this insurance does not bring anyone back, but it eases the stress that the surviving spouse or family are under due to the untimely death. The time to buy life insurance is when you are young and don't feel you need it. Yes, it costs money, but it is a sensible investment in one's future ... as this young widow can gratefully attest to.

As a mortgage lender, I always cringe when home buyers want to stretch their budgeting capabilities to the maximum. This ultimately can leave them vulnerable and unprotected for life's emergencies or catastrophies. The unthinkable can happen, even to the young.

My friend reminded me to impress this on my clients entering new mortgage situations, especially the young ones. It is wise to leave yourself room for important life investments, such as life insurance. Not doing so can be disastrous. I promised him I would get that important message out. So, thank you to Mr. Richard Stringham of Stringham Insurance Agency in Mokena, Illinois (www.stringhaminsurance.com). Hopefully your important message has now reached many and they will be moved to take action to protect themselves and their families.